Cape wins 14-publisher battle for Craig's 'inspirational' Birdgirl

Jonathan Cape has triumphed in a 14-publisher auction for Birdgirl, the “inspirational” debut book by 18-year-old environmental activist Mya-Rose Craig.

Publishing director Michal Shavit acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from from Claire Paterson Conrad at Janklow & Nesbit for release as a lead publication in autumn 2022. The book is billed as “a wondrous memoir about a young woman’s passion for birds, an inspiring activist’s journey towards environmental and racial justice, and a deeply moving story about family and mental health”.

Craig writes the popular Birdgirl blog and is the youngest person ever to have seen half the world’s species of birds. She also set up Black2Nature with the aim of increasing the access to nature of visible minority ethnic people like herself and, in February 2020, became the youngest person in the world to be awarded an honorary doctorate in science from Bristol University, in recognition of her five years of campaigning for diversity in the environmental sector.

The campaigner, who completed her A-Levels this year and, after writing Birdgirl, will begin studying politics and international relations at university, said: “I am so excited to be able to finally tell the world that I will be working with Michal Shavit and her team at Jonathan Cape who will be publishing my book. A book which has been germinating in my head since I was young and will bring together all the strands of my life so far.”

Her book introduces readers to her life as a birder, an obsession that began in her early childhood. As she travels the world in search of thousands of rare and spectacular birds, each chapter will be dedicated to a different species. She will also share her journey as a climate and race activist, and how as a half-Bangladeshi, half-British teenager growing up in Somerset's Chew Valley, she began to fight for ethnic inclusivity in the white male dominated environmental sector.

It also deals with how, throughout her childhood and into her teens, she watched her mother battle a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder. The publisher said: “The book will highlight how the family’s love of birds helped them to heal the trauma of a mental health crisis, moving out of the darkness and into light by looking up at the sky. Birdgirl will be a manifesto for hope, for a saner, fairer world, and one that will be as page-turning as it is inspiring, particularly for fans of Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai and Helen Macdonald.”

Rights have already been sold in string of other territories with Celadon winning a US auction and pre-empts in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. FSG Children’s have acquired the YA rights for a graphic novel.

Shavit said: “At only 18, Mya-Rose has done and achieved more than many achieve in a lifetime. This book, which combines her love of nature and in particular, birds, is a letter of love to that world, and to family and mental well-being. It’s an inspirational book of beautiful nature writing that will speak to young and old alike. We couldn’t be prouder to be publishing her at Cape.”