Anil Seth's meditation on consciousness to Faber

Faber & Faber is to publish British researcher Anil Seth’s The Presence Chamber in 2019.

Editorial director Laura Hassan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Will Francis at Janklow & Nesbit.

In The Presence Chamber, Seth will chart our understanding of consciousness throughout history and reveal "exciting new research that will make real differences in science and medicine and shift the way we see ourselves forever".

Seth is the founding co-director of the Sackler Centre at the University of Sussex where he collaborates with cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, brain imagers, virtual reality wizards, mathematicians and philosophers.

Hassan pre-empted the book within 24 hours of receiving it. She said: "This will be a mind-blowing, beautifully written book that takes us to the frontiers of science. As with all the very best non-fiction, the world feels a little bit different after you’ve read it. I couldn’t think of a more exciting project for my first acquisition for Faber & Faber."

Seth is professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, and co-director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. He writes regularly for New Scientist, the Guardian, and the BBC.

Seth said: "I am thrilled to be working with Faber & Faber and Laura Hassan on The Presence Chamber. As my first full-length book I couldn’t have hoped for a better partnership – and I’m truly excited about what lies ahead.  I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career to focus on the mystery of consciousness, and I’m relishing the challenge of communicating the excitement and vibrancy of this research through my book."

Janklow & Nesbit's Rebecca Folland (RFolland@janklow.co.uk) will handle translation rights, with PJ Mark handling US submissions for the New York office.