Faber to publish special Liberty edition of Milkman along with new audio

Faber will publish a special London Liberty edition of Anna Burns’ Man Booker Prize-winning Milkman in September, as part of its partnership with the historic department store, along with a new audio edition read by the author herself.

The partnership “brings together the best writers in print today with Liberty’s world-class design team to create exquisite books and diaries,” said Faber. 

The special edition will feature Liberty fabric-covered editions of Faber’s “classic and groundbreaking contemporary works to celebrate both the history and the future” of the publisher, the indie said. The fabric 'Small Town' has been chosen, designed by Duncan Grant, the winner of the Instagram talent scout #LibertyOpenCall 2019. The 'Small Town' print is one of Grant’s series of ‘smalltown’ ink designs, drawing inspiration from the homes and chimneys of his childhood in Gravesend. “Born out of a doodling style, the design features a world that is by turns childlike, slightly abstract and colourfully simplified,” Faber said.

The book will be published on 5th September, retailing at £14.99 hardback, two years after Faber first announced its unique partnership with Liberty London Fabrics.

Faber is also publishing a new recording of Milkman, read by Burns herself, as part of the celebrations for the first anniversary of the Man Booker win last October. This unabridged edition will be released as a download to coincide with the publication of the Liberty limited edition. A seven-minute interview between Burns and her editor Louisa Joyner is included at the end of the recording. The audio edition will also be published on 5th September with an r.r.p. of £19.99.

Joyner said of the two new editions: “We are extremely proud to work to be producing a new audio book and this special edition to mark what has been a stellar year for Anna and for Faber. The Liberty partnership recognises classics and classics-in-the-making, and this landmark new hardback will be celebrated for years to come.”

Milkman has sold 217,736 copies for £1.6m across all editions, according to Nielsen BookScan. It had the biggest first full week of sales directly after the announcement in the Nielsen BookScan era and recently surpassed Paul Beatty’s The Sellout (Oneworld) to become the biggest-selling winner since 2014’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Chatto & Windus).

Faber reprinted 45,000 copies the morning after the Man Booker win and the "astonishing demand" for copies saw demand continue to soar the following month. It follows a young woman experiencing sexual harassment from a paramilitary predator taking advantage of his power in a divided society recognisable as Belfast during the Troubles.