The Midult manual for imperfect women goes to Cassell

Cassell, part of Octopus, has acquired the first book from the creators of "The Midult", a digital platform about grown-up women. 

Pitched as "a wry, heartfelt, edgy look at what it is to be a grown-up woman", UK and Commonwealth rights in I’m Absolutely Fine! A Manual for Imperfect Women by Annabel Rivkin and Emilie McMeekan were acquired by Octopus publisher Alison Starling from Zoe King at The Blair Partnership. It will be published on 6th September 2018 as a £16.99 hardback.

Chapters in the book cover topics such as relationships ("It's Not Me, It's You"), sex ("What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"), joy ("In My Defence, I was Left Unsupervised"), friendship ("Wishbone, Backbone, Funnybone") and self-image ("Does This Straitjacket Make Me Look Fat?"). Topics are explored through essays, listicles ("Five Guys You Probably Slept With") and mantras ("Perfection? You Can Keep It.").

Journalists Rivkin and McMeekan founded The Midult in 2016 and together they write a Midult column in the Saturday Telegraph Magazine.

Starling said of the acquisition: "As the 1.5 million readers of the Saturday Telegraph Magazine know, Annabel and Emilie have the ability to take a loving but sharply funny look at the issues that preoccupy us all – from the big stuff about work, relationships and money to the mini-obsessions of everyday life – and to leave us feeling happier, stronger (and saner) as a result. It’s been a hugely enjoyable process to work with them on their first book."

Rivkin and McMeekan said everything in the book had sprung out of conversation and confession. "'Is it just me?’ we ask ourselves every minute of every day. Of course not. If we’re not in it together, we’re not in it at all…the good, the bad, the corrosively vicious, the incredibly humiliating, and the funny. The appallingly funny," they said jointly. "Welcome to Midulthood; a place where we recognise that we are more alike that we are unalike. We hope that this book is an authentic glimpse beneath ‘I’m absolutely fine!’"