Trapeze pre-empts Lord's debut within hours of submission

Vogue dating columnist Annie Lord’s debut has been bought in a pre-empt by Trapeze within hours of submission. 

Rachel Neely, commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for Notes on Heartbreak as part of a “whirlwind” pre-emptive deal, the publisher said. Rights were snapped up from Florence Rees at  A M Heath. Notes on Heartbreak will be a Trapeze non-fiction lead title, published in hardback in June 2022.  

The blurb reads: “Dark, fierce and raw, Notes on Heartbreak is a love story told in reverse, starting with a devastating break-up. As Annie Lord deals with her broken heart, the book constantly revisits the past, from the moment she first fell in love, to the months that saw the slow erosion of a bond five years in the making. It's a book about the best and worst of love: the euphoric and the painful, the beautiful and the messy.” 

Neely said: “I knew we had to buy Annie’s book from the very first page. I’ve been a huge fan of her journalism for years, but Notes on Heartbreak completely blew me away. We feel Annie's pain with her, join her as she begins to heal, and cringe or laugh in recognition of our own experience as Annie charts her attempts to move on, from disastrous rebound sex to stalking your ex's new girlfriend on Instagram and the sharp indignity of being ghosted."

She added: "It is so much more than a book about one singular break-up; it is an unflinchingly raw and honest meditation on the simultaneous joy and pain of being in love that will resonate with anyone who has ever nursed a broken heart.” 

Alongside Vogue, Lord has also written for VICE, the Sunday Times, New Statesman, I-D, the Guardian, the Quietus and Dazed. 

Lord commented: “Learning that Trapeze wanted to publish Notes on Heartbreak was an absolute dream. Rachel and the rest of the team immediately understood my vision. I am also massively thankful to my agent Florence, without her help none of this would have happened. I cannot wait for everyone to read it.”