Fourth Estate wins auction for black British women's life guide

Fourth Estate is to publish Slay in Your Lane, a guide to life for a generation of black British women by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene.

Publishing director Helen Garnons-Williams acquired British Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible in a "hotly-contested" auction involving nine publishers, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann Agency.

Slay in Your Lane is a guide to life for a generation of black British women "inspired to make Lemonade out of lemons, à la Beyonce". Filling a "keenly-felt void" in books focused on their experiences, Slay in Your Lane touches on work, dating, representation, education and health, and takes a look at how being black and female affects each of these areas - as told by a "bevy of successful black women".

The publisher said: "Infectiously smart, funny and furious, Yomi and Elizabeth are part of an ongoing conversation online about the recent crop of inspirational books, and the women that write them. For them, the question is: where is our voice? Between Sandberg's Lean In and Amoruso's #GirlBoss, what is out there for black British women trying to navigate their formative years in a world in which they're largely sidelined?

"Slay in Your Lane is the answer. Yomi and Elizabeth jump into the conversation on behalf of their friends and themselves, tackling issues unique to being young, female and black. From 25 year-old beauty entrepreneur Florence Adepoju to BAFTA award-winning director Amma Asante, they have tracked down successful black British women across a variety of industries, and have interviewed them throughout the book, pulling them into the spotlight alongside their own experiences. Yomi and Elizabeth hope to highlight the stories of some of the country’s most accomplished and yet simultaneously underrepresented women."

Publication is scheduled for spring 2018.