Quadrille snaps up essays on women's relationship with the internet

Quadrille will publish an exploration of the female relationship with the internet, Mixed Feelings, by Refinery29 editor Sarah Raphael and campaigner Naomi Shimada.

Mixed Feelings "will examine the emotional consequences of our digital habits and how they affect every area of our lives, from romance and friendships to politics and body image,” the publisher said. Written by Refinery29 editor-at-large Raphael along with model, campaigner and influencer Shimada, the book will feature "personal essays and wide ranging discussions between women of all ages and races… [considering] 25 years since its inception, what is the internet really doing to women, and how could we change it for the better?"

Billed as "an innovative, intersectional and timely exploration of the female relationship to the internet,” the deal was negotiated by Niki Chang at The Good Literary Agency.  Commissioning editor for non fiction at Quadrille, Susannah Otter, bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada with publication slated for 22nd August, retailing at £16.99. 

Otter said of the deal: "Oh, the internet. Like everyone I know, I can’t stop talking about it or wondering what it is doing to every part of my life, and I can’t work out how I feel about it. I’m therefore overjoyed to have signed this brilliant book, which will help me, and everyone else, work it out, once and for all. Naomi and Sarah are the perfect pairing for this amazing, far-reaching project and I’m thrilled to be working on it with them."

Raphael commented: "We’ve all seen and done things on the internet that made us feel weird, bad or superior in some way. Mixed Feelings is about the extreme highs and extreme lows that we experience, mostly alone, while staring at our screens. 

"As two 30-year-old women who work in the media in careers created by the internet, we want to address these complex feelings and hear how they intensify or dilute for other women of all ages and backgrounds, through one to one and group discussions."