Penguin Business pre-empts Permission to Speak by Hollywood speech coach

Penguin Business has pre-empted Permission to Speak by Samara Bay, a dialect and speech coach in Hollywood. 

Commissioning editor Lydia Yadi pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Denise Cronin at Crown Publishing in the US. UK publication is scheduled for autumn 2021. 

The synopsis of Permission to Speak asks: "Were you told as a child to be quiet or to speak up? Have you used vocal fry because it made you seem young in an industry that prizes youth, or been told to get rid of vocal fry to sound more authoritative? Do you speak in monotone so you don’t go too high or sound too enthusiastic in a situation where you’d rather seem cool and unfazed? Do you experience imposter syndrome, or a fear of being seen, of getting it wrong, of not fitting in—or not standing out?"

Bay, an experienced voice and dialect coach, will unpack these questions and explore how the voice works, what affects our voices and why people speak in the manner they do. Bay will also offer technical tips on how to improve, modify or amplify your voice whether you are out of your comfort zone, speaking in public or simply trying new sounds with your mouth. The book is particularly focused on amplifying female voices. 

Yadi commented: "Not only is this book a fascinating explanation of how the voice works, it is also a rallying cry encouraging women to use their voice to get what they want. Drawing on the representation of women’s voices in history, and commenting on the current gender politics at play, Permission to Speak is an insightful meditation on the relationship between voice and power, and it’s written to help women elevate both."

Bay has previously worked on films "Avengers: Endgame" and "Wonderwoman: 1984", as well as with actors such as Busy Philipps, Rachel McAdams and Dominic Cooper to help maximise the effect of their voices and perfect accents.