Acquisition Announcement 11.1.22
ONEWORLD ACQUIRES ‘FABULOUS’ GUIDE TO COPY BY PENGUIN’S RESIDENT BLURBER
Oneworld has signed ‘copywriter extraordinaire’ Louise Willder’s Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A-Z of Literary Persuasion, publishing in September 2022.
Cecilia Stein, Editorial Director, acquired World All Language rights from the author.
Blurb Your Enthusiasm is about those humble 100-or-so words of jacket copy that take seconds to read but can make or break a book – and what they tell us about literary history, the craft of writing, authors from George Orwell to Zadie Smith, genres from children’s fiction to bonkbusters, cover design, the dark arts of persuasion and even who we are as readers.
You’ll learn how to avoid describing that literary novel on your desk as ‘luminous’ and why a children’s edition of Pride and Prejudice pulls off the best strapline. Packed full of trade secrets, this is a guide for anyone who loves to read, think about and play with words.
Stein said: ‘With warmth, clarity and wit, Louise strikes at the heart of how words work. As publishers, we try to make connections between books and readers – and Louise is a secret weapon in this delicate endeavour. I have learned and laughed so much!’
Louise Willder has been a copywriter at Penguin Books for twenty-five years. During this time, she has produced blurbs for about 5,000 books, trying to convince readers that they need them in their lives – as well as storing up tales of the foibles of the publishing world.
She said: ‘‘Writing something longer than 100 words has been a novel and joyful experience. I’m thrilled to share what I’ve learned about the art of literary persuasion over the years, and to impart a bit of publishing gossip on the way. I hope Blurb Your Enthusiasm will enlighten and delight readers – and maybe raise a few eyebrows in the trade too.’
For further information, review copies or author interviews please contact Sarah Bennie PR on behalf of Oneworld sarah@sarahbennie.com