Elliott & Thompson bag The Power of Geography

Elliott & Thompson has acquired world rights to Tim Marshall’s latest book, The Power of Geography, the long-awaited sequel to Prisoners of Geography.

The deal was agreed directly between Marshall and Jennie Condell, director at Elliott & Thompson. International deals have subsequently been agreed with Germany, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Poland, South Korea, all via Louisa Pritchard Associates, and North American rights have also been acquired by Colin Harrison at Scribner via George Lucas at InkWell Management. The Power of Geography will publish in the UK on 22nd April 2021, in hardback royal format, distributed by Simon & Schuster UK.

The new title explores how geography shapes politics and and a nation's power. The synopsis reads: "Tim Marshall’s global hit, Prisoners of Geography, showed how every nation’s choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Since then, the geography hasn’t changed, but the world has. In his revelatory new book, Marshall takes us into 10 new regions that are set to shape global politics and power. Tim explores why the Earth’s atmosphere is the world’s next battleground; why the fight for the Pacific is just beginning; and why Europe’s next refugee crisis is closer than it thinks. Covering Australia, the Sahel, Greece, Turkey, the UK, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Space, it is a gripping exploration of the power of geography to shape humanity’s past, present – and future."

Prisoners of Geography has sold over 575,000 copies in the UK in paperback alone and over 1.5 million copies worldwide, according to the publisher. It’s been translated into 29 languages, spent  66 weeks in the Sunday Times top 10, was a New York Times bestseller in the US and a bestseller in Germany and Italy.

Commenting on the acquisition,  Condell said: “Prisoners of Geography is one of the standout titles of the past decade: a genuine word-of-mouth bestseller that we have been told many times has changed readers’ lives. Tim Marshall’s extraordinary combination of razor-sharp insight and wit has made geopolitics a truly popular subject. And now, at last, we’re able to read more. The Power of Geography is, like its predecessor, utterly gripping, bringing all of Tim’s knowledge and flair to 10 regions that are increasingly making headlines around the world. I have already learned so much from this wonderful book, and am sure Tim’s many thousands of fans will love it as much as I did. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be publishing it.”

Marshall is a leading authority on foreign affairs, with more than 30 years' experience of reporting. He was diplomatic editor at Sky News, and before that was working for the BBC and LBC/IRN radio. He has reported from 40 countries and covered conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Israel. He is also the author of: Divided: Why We’re Living in an Age of Walls; Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags; and Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire.