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Granta Books has signed a non-fiction account of Russian band and political protest group Pussy Riot.
The as-yet-untitled book will be written by journalist Masha Gessen, who has previously written about Russian President Vladimir Putin. It will explore the background of the feminist punk group, and the consequences of their protests.
Max Porter, commissioning editor at Granta Books, signed UK and Commonwealth rights from Hal Fessenden, rights director at Penguin Group US. Porter said: “She [Gessen] has remarkable access to the band, and her understanding of the Russian protest movement is unparalleled.”
The book will be published in spring 2014.
Pussy Riot, a collective of several female musicians and activists, made headlines around the world in 2012 when three members were arrested following a performance in a Moscow cathedral. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina remain in prison on hooliganism charges, with Putin claiming they had “undermined the moral foundations” of the nation. Their case has prompted criticism from human rights groups around the world.