Morgan promoted to publisher as Brazen plans fiction expansion

Romilly Morgan has been promoted from publishing director to publisher of Brazen with immediate effect, having launched the “books with bite” imprint as part of Octopus Publishing Group in 2021.

Books on the Brazen list include number one bestseller Girlcrush by Florence Given, Indie Book Award Shortlisted Consumed by Aja Barber, and memoir Strong Female Character by Fern Brady.

Brazen is now planning to expand its fiction offering alongside its growing non-fiction list.

Acquisitions for spring publication in 2024 include Juano Diaz’s debut memoir Slum Boy. Morgan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Sophie Lambert at C&W. Slum Boy is set in the slums of Glasgow in the late 1970s, as four-year-old John’s life is filled with the debris of alcoholism and poverty. Soon after he witnesses a drowning, his mother’s addictions take over both of their lives and he is left to starve, awaiting her return. A concerned neighbour reports her and he is forcibly placed into the care system. There, he dreams of being reunited with her.

In summer 2024, Brazen will publish Monika Kim’s debut novel The Eyes Are The Best Part, a feminist psychological horror about a young Korean-American woman’s obsession with eating white men’s eyes, sparked by her father’s sudden departure, her family’s subsequent unravelling, and her mother’s new Caucasian boyfriend. Morgan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Nicola Barr of The Bent Agency. It will be published in the US with Diana M Pho at Erewhon.

In autumn 2024, Brazen will publish the first of a two-book fiction series called The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood. Morgan acquired the rights from Marina Penalva at Casanovas & Lynch on behalf of Emily Books Agency for a high six-figure sum after it was a bestseller in Japan. It has now been sold in 18 territories and counting. Brazen sold the US rights for both books to Hilary Teeman, executive editor at Ballantine Books, for a six-figure sum.

Set in Kyoto, the books are based on the Japanese myth of cats returning favours to humans who are kind to them. The Full Moon Coffee Shop is run by talking cats, it has no fixed location and materialises on the night of a full moon. The protagonists of this story – a successful female scriptwriter in crisis, a heartbroken tv director, and two male entrepreneurs – all end up there in the middle of the night, in a semi-dream-like state, and receive life-altering advice.

Brazen will also be publishing Bare, described as "a homeless memoir", by film director Lorna Tucker and Rebecca Lucy Taylor, a.k.a. Self-Esteem, in 2024.

Morgan said: “I have never really understood the sharp demarcation between non-fiction and fiction genres; when an author can write, they can and should be able to write without boundaries or limitations. Opening my list to fiction allows writers to move their pen between both. I want to thank my authors for their writing and their stories. Working with Anna Bond and Mel Four makes it all the more exhilarating. I look forward to sharing more books and plans very soon.”

Octopus m.d. Anna Bond said: “It has been a joy to see Romilly, Mel and the Brazen team make their mark on the non-fiction market over the last two years by delivering commercial and literary success for their authors. I am delighted that the list will now start to publish more fiction to allow us to bring even more creative talent to the list and allow our authors to blur the lines between the genres and continue to surprise and entertain readers and listeners.”