Pan Mac sells ‘Heartsick’ to US, UK
Pan Macmillan Australia has sold US and UK rights to debut nonfiction title Heartsick (Jessie Stephens) after ‘a highly contested auction’. US rights were sold to Henry Holt in a deal negotiated by Dan Lazar at Writers House and UK rights were sold to Macmillan UK, which is also representing translation rights.
Heartsick, a work of narrative nonfiction that debuted at number three on the Australian nonfiction bestseller charts, weaves together ‘three stories of the ways that love can bruise, break and build us’. Based on extensive interviews, it is ‘the book Stephens scoured shelves in search of but couldn’t find among the “101 tips to cure a broken heart” guidebooks’. ‘By writing this book, she hopes to remove the stigma attached to relationship breakups and heartbreak, a brand of grief Stephens argues we don’t take seriously enough despite its universality,’ said Pan Macmillan.
‘Heartsick is the story of the inner lives of three real people living out their emotional journeys of attachment, pain and healing,’ said Macmillan publisher Lucy Hale. ‘Stories that belong to us all whoever, and wherever, we are. Compassionate, piercing and poetic, it is a haunting piece of writing that will stay with me forever.’
Macmillan/Henry Holt vice president and executive editor Serena Jones said, ‘I struggle to think of a single person who wouldn’t relate to the stories here, and the book is as cathartic and healing as it is completely unputdownable. Jessie Stephens has done an incredible job of finding stories from a diverse group of real people, so it feels especially inclusive. All of us at Holt are excited to bring the book to a US audience.’
Pan Macmillan Australia publisher Cate Blake said she was delighted but not surprised the title had made an impact with international publishers. ‘Jessie Stephens has crept inside her “characters” and drawn something beautifully universal from the specifics of their experiences—you feel every single emotion like a body blow. Jessie’s created something incredibly special here.’
Stephens is currently the assistant head of content at Mamamia and co-host of the Mamamia Outloud, True Crime Conversations and Book Club podcasts. She said: ‘I am beyond excited to see the international interest in Heartsick, and couldn’t be happier to work with both Holt and Macmillan UK, after such a great experience with Pan Macmillan Australia. I can’t wait to see Heartsick reach audiences I never expected it to.’
Originally published by Books and Publishing (Read More)