Climate change and the environment look set to light up Frankfurt

Editors and agents are reporting huge interest around climate change and environmental issues, as well as data and artificial intelligence (AI), ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair. On the commercial fiction side, heavy-hitting agents Madeleine Milburn and Juliet Mushens have secured major auctions for débuts along with agent newbie Eleanor Birne.

Almost all the agents and editors who spoke to The Bookseller mentioned the environment as a major theme with serious non-fiction still making waves. Bodley Head publishing director Stuart Williams said: "The most obvious thread running through submissions we’re seeing is climate change. There’s a huge increase in the volume of proposals and the variety of angles writers are coming at the subject from. It’s a relief to see what used to be thought of as a commercially difficult subject infused with so much urgency."

Janklow & Nesbit agent Will Francis agreed: "It feels like there is lots coming through on this, a real glut of environmental books. A few years ago, books about the environment felt like the kiss of death commercially. It is incredibly heartening, but the difficulty is that a lot of publishers are buying things about global warming and climate change, and differentiating them all may be difficult. Only a couple will rise to the top."

Mike Harpley, non-fiction editorial director at Atlantic Books, said it feels like a tipping point for the genre. "This seems to be the first year when climate change books have rightly reached the mainstream. Previously I think that a lot of editors were wary of the subject, seeing it as worthy but not commercial." The surge is also being seen in children’s. Nosy Crow m.d. Kate Wilson said: "With Greta Thunberg in the news, and a focus on sustainability, we are expecting to see a lot of interest in books for children about nature and ecology. Our rushed-to-publication Earth Heroes, out a week before the fair, is a good example."

Environmental concerns
The thirst for environmental issues also feeds into the continued demand for experts shedding light on hidden worlds. The Bookseller understands that a forensic psychologist and an expert on antisocial behaviour have been signed in major deals, while Ebury recently announced a book by a leading expert on psychopaths, Dr Mark Freestone, who advised on the "Killing Eve" TV series.

In addition, editors seem keen to grapple with the murky worlds of big data and computers. Many cited AI as a trend, including Williams and Harpley, along with Lorella Belli of her eponymous literary agency. Belli has seen publisher interest in two non-fiction memoirs focusing on big data: one is an account of cyber warfare by journalist Matt Potter, and the second is a title on home DNA testing, written by a geneticist. Belli said: "The proposals are basically experts in their field, using their own experience, but also their jobs, to understand why these things are happening right now—and what the implications are. It’s interesting."

In fiction too, there continues to be enthusiasm for hidden worlds as well as darker themes, as described by Suzanne Baboneau, head of adult publishing at Simon & Schuster UK, who highlighted a high number of younger narrators. "There’s a lot in terms of thriller and crime and a lot about death, some focusing on abuse. There’s also a lot of [titles with] young protagonists—I’ve read manuscripts with narrators who are 12, 17 or 25. They are very fresh voices."

Madeleine Milburn of her self-titled agency agreed: "We are still seeing the strongest response for smart reading-group fiction that has a darker edge." She has seen huge success already with her pre-fair offerings, securing big deals with Bloomsbury and Picador. "We’ve had an exceptionally quick response to our Frankfurt débuts, with each sold at auction in under two weeks," she said. "I went out first with the sophisticated female-led thriller Greenwich Park, by Katherine Faulkner, joint head of news at the Times—it went to Alison Hennessey at Raven Books in a multi-way auction. Next came Emma Stonex’s literary mystery The Lamplighters, inspired by a true story of three missing lighthouse-keepers. It went to Francesca Main [editorial director] at Picador in an auction that she said ‘galvanised the whole company’—it will be its lead title in 2021."

Meanwhile, début author Abigail Dean’s Girl A, about a lawyer whose mother dies in prison, is currently in a nine-way bidding war in the UK, negotiated by Juliet Mushens of Caskie Mushens. There is also a US auction and a strong response across Europe, with French rights going to J C Lattes in a pre-empt, Italian rights to Einaudi in a pre-empt, along with Brazilian and Spanish offers.

Picador editor Kishani Widyaratna and agent Carrie Plitt

Literary fiction
In regards to literary fiction, début author Louise Kennedy has struck gold with her short story collection and novel, recently the subject of a nine-publisher auction. Alexis Kirschbaum, publishing director for fiction and non-fiction at Bloomsbury, won UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, on Tuesday (24th September). Agent Eleanor Birne, who recently joined PEW Literary, told The Bookseller: "The reaction from editors has been absolutely extraordinary. It’s been phenomenal... [Kennedy] is a really rare new literary voice—when you read new writing like this, you just feel it in your gut."

Picador editor Kishani Widyaratna also believes literary fiction has picked up. "It’s been interesting how hugely competitive it has been in the literary space, and those submissions have been moving more quickly than the commercial books," she said. Carrie Plitt of Felicity Bryan Associates also believes there is more of a sense of adventure in literary fiction. "People seem to be willing to buy collections of short stories and more experimental fiction, so I would say I’m excited to see whether that would play out at Frankfurt."

Overall, industry figures said they expected the fair to be busy and most did not believe Brexit would have an immediate impact. Many firms are sending more staff than ever before, with Milburn revealing she had quadrupled the agency’s presence at the fair. Nosy Crow is sending an editor for the first time (Kirsty Stansfield) and Atlantic is sending eight staff, one more than previously.

Few expressed concern for the relocated rights centre (from Hall 6 to the nearby Festhalle), but Atlantic m.d. Will Atkinson called it a "total nightmare", adding: "It’s like [FBF] looked at LBF and thought, ‘Let’s do something even more ridiculous’."

Margaret Halton, rights manager of PEW Literary, said she would reserve judgement on the relocation, and does not think that Brexit will impact on the fair—yet. "It will have huge implications in the end, in terms of the status of the Pound against the Euro. If we end up doing deals in a different currency, the tax implications are incredible, longer-term. But this is all longer-term." She added: "It feels like it will still be as busy and, in terms of our schedules, it’s business as usual."

Subscribers can read the Agents’ Hotlists for Frankfurt Book Fair 2019 here.