Atlantic triumphs in seven-way auction for prison diary

Following a “highly competitive” seven-way bidding war, Atlantic Books has acquired a prison diary by  BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Chris Atkins from his time at HMP Wandsworth.

Editorial director for non-fiction Mike Harpley bought UK  and Commonwealth rights for print and e-book to A Bit of a Stretch from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown following the seven-publisher auction. Harriet Poland, business affairs manager of Audible, acquired the audio rights. A Bit of a Stretch will be published in hardback and e-book in February 2020.

The memoir explores Atkins' five-year prison sentence in HMP Wandsworth after he became “embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his film,” Atlantic said.

“Horrifying, moving, and darkly funny, this is the unvarnished depiction of what he found: a creaking and surreal system that has been left to rot in the shadows of polite society,” the publisher said. “Full of incredible and hilarious stories, this diary reveals the true scale of our prison crisis and why it is costing us all.”

Harpley said: "I don’t think I’ve ever been submitted a funnier book. But more than this, it is incredibly important too, revealing why we should all care about the horrific state of our prisons. Chris has that rare gift of writing about what could be a depressing subject and bringing it vividly to life with biting humour. I am confident it will make waves – both in terms of its political impact and its huge commercial potential."

Atkins said: "Prison was an eye-opening experience. I worked as a Listener, who are trained by the Samaritans to help suicidal inmates, and I was appalled by the mental health problems I encountered. Thanks to the farcically bad management, I also found Wandsworth darkly entertaining, so hopefully the book won’t be too heavy a read."