Headline signs Vosper's book on pregnancy and baby loss

Headline Home has signed Beyond Grief: Navigating the Journey of Pregnancy and Baby Loss by Pippa Vosper. 

Senior commissioning editor Anna Steadman acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann for publication in hardback, e-book and audio in summer 2022. 

“Pippa Vosper, who tragically lost her son Axel in 2017 when she was five months pregnant, has written about baby loss online and in a series of pieces for Vogue,” Headline said. “Beyond Grief promises to be the book she wishes had been available when her son died. It will cover every aspect of pregnancy and baby loss, from the practical to the emotional, and offer both an inclusive perspective and a guiding hand to anyone experiencing a loss of their own, as well as those who are trying to support them through it.” 

The book will also contain interviews, advice and stories from a number of experts and people with personal experience of baby loss. Confirmed contributors include Elizabeth Day, Funmi Fetto and Jools Oliver. 

Vosper is a writer, presenter and brand consultant. Best known for her series of written features for British Vogue, she has also written for Grazia, Interview and Italian Vogue among others. She is also a public speaker on issues ranging from fertility to fashion and her own life experiences. 

She said: “When I experienced pregnancy loss at five months [into pregnancy], I urgently needed to know there was life beyond my grief. My book brings together everything I wish I had known about pregnancy loss, at any stage, and the years that follow. I want to give others the hope and encouragement that life will not always feel as painful as it does soon after pregnancy loss. In Headline Home I have found a publisher who perfectly understands the importance of bringing further awareness to this often silenced subject.” 

Steadman added: “I have been looking for a book about baby loss for some time, a subject that is sadly relevant to so many women and those around them. As soon as I spoke with Pippa I knew that I wanted to publish Beyond Grief. This is a book that is going to both resonate with and provide comfort to so many people, and I’m very proud to be publishing it next year.” 

Pickering commented: “When Pippa’s proposal first arrived in my inbox, I wrote back to her within 12 minutes to tell her I’d love to discuss it. So many women experience baby loss, it’s still hugely under-discussed in public spaces, and I was thrilled to at last have found the book I can recommend to friends and mothers who have experienced this devastating event. We have found the perfect publishing home with Anna, and I’m so pleased that this book will exist for those who need it.”