Hachette Ireland acquires Döring's 'visceral' memoir

Hachette Ireland has acquired Mia Döring's "deeply personal and astutely political" literary memoir and debut Any Girl.

The memoir is an account of Döring's survival of rape at aged 16, sexual exploitation and the sex trade in Ireland as a young woman. The memoir has a strongly feminist approach, exploring male violence and the patriarchal systems which support it. It calls for a society-wide enlightenment in relation to the cause and impact of sexual trauma, male power, and the exploitation of female vulnerability by patriarchal culture. 

"Infused with her experience as a psychotherapist, the author integrates her past with her present in unexpected and radical ways, culminating in a book which is beautiful, radically honest and compassionate," the synopsis explains. 

The publisher acquired world rights from Jonathan Williams at the Jonathan WIlliams Literary Agency. The book will be published in trade paperback  on 17th February 2022.

Publisher Ciara Considine said of the book: “I can honestly say that this book landing on my desk made the single greatest impact of any submission in my almost 30 years of publishing. I began reading it at 5.10 in the evening, just after agent Jonathan Williams sent it to me, and finished after midnight having barely looked up from the pages. 

"The effect was visceral – I was both reeling and in awe. Any Girl is a singular, extraordinarily brave work which excavates the nature of trauma, and presents a startling picture of physical, mental and emotional landscapes. Both deeply personal and astutely political, I believe it is an important memoir for our time, and a uniquely female perspective on cultural issues of significance.”

Döring added: “It means so much to me that Hachette are publishing my first book. I’ve struggled for a long time in the writing and re-writing of it, my own development throughout, and coming to terms with what it means to publicise such acutely personal matters. Although it is an act of vulnerability to expose one’s most private and painful experiences in the public domain, I hope it inspires others to bear their own stories with bravery and compassion. 

"It is hard to speak about sexual violence because our society is still not able to respond to it with the empathic courage it deserves. My hope is that by being empathic and courageous within myself, the book does something to aid this process. I’m looking forward to it being read and can’t thank Jonathan Williams and Hachette Books Ireland enough for believing in it and me.”