Bloomsbury snaps up Labour minister Chris Bryant's memoir

Bloomsbury will publish the memoir of Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, who is also Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Jasmine Horsey, editorial director for Bloomsbury Trade, bought UK and Commonwealth rights to A Life and a Half: The Unexpected Making of a Politician from James Gill at Felicity Bryan Associates, in an exclusive submission.

The synopsis states: "A Life and a Half will tell the story of Bryant’s unorthodox life before politics, taking in everything from his years as an Anglican priest to his stint in the National Youth Theatre, his experiences in gay London in the 1980s to his challenges growing up with an alcoholic mother and an estranged father.

"A Life and a Half tells a story of bishops and actors, drag queens and pushy candidates, stuffed with moments of joy and hilarity, sorrow and abuse. All while tracking the landscape of late 20th-century British politics, from Thatcher to the birth of New Labour."

Bryant said: "My life before I became an MP was full of incident. Funny, dramatic, melodramatic and sometimes sad. I wanted to tell that story as honestly as possible which is why parts of it are not for the faint-hearted. I have careered from career to career. But what I’ve learned through setting it all down is that there is a central theme – a heartfelt anger when something’s just not fair."

Horsey added: "It is such a pleasure to work with Chris Bryant. He has said from the beginning that he wants this to be one of the most honest books written by a politician, let alone a sitting politician. A Life and a Half lives up to that. Both huge fun and enormously profound, it will surprise and delight readers."

The book will be published on 14th August 2025.