Granta scoops Buckingam's 'sparkling' strangers' book

Granta Books will publish “a powerful antidote to our atomised world” from author and academic Will Buckingham, Hello Stranger.

Anne Meadows, senior commissioning editor at Granta, acquired world English language rights from Emma Finn at C&W. With a publication date of 2020, Hello Stranger is billed as  “an exploration of how welcoming strangers into our homes and our cities might improve our lives and change the world.”

A powerful antidote to our atomised world, Hello, Stranger explores how different cultures - from governors in Ancient Rome to festival goers in the outer islands of Indonesia - welcome strangers as guests, enemies and migrants, the publisher said. The book explores “how opening our doors could cure the loneliness epidemic, alleviate the migrant crisis and enrich us all”.

Buckingham is the author of several books and has a PhD in philosophy and an MA in social anthropology, and lectures at The Parami Institute in Myanmar.

“Hello, Stranger not only made me feel wiser, and fascinated me with its brilliant stories, it made me want to be a better, warmer, kinder, more welcoming person,” Meadows said. “In this era of walls and borders, loneliness and isolation, I am so glad we’ll be publishing Will on the Granta Books list, and so excited to bring his sparkling, heart-warming book into the world.”

For US rights enquiries email Angela Rose on arose@granta.com for any other rights questions, contact emma@cwagency.co.uk.">emma@cwagency.co.uk.