Bloomsbury wins 10-way auction for Okotcha's Bread for All and Roses Too

Bloomsbury has won a competitive 10-way auction for Bread for All and Roses Too: A Year in a Hopeful Garden, the debut book by ecological horticulturalist Poppy Okotcha.

Kitty Stogdon, commissioning editor, acquired world rights from Alice Russell at The Found for publication in autumn 2024.

Bread for All and Roses Too, which is the working title for the book, traces the author’s relationship with her garden and community growing spaces over the course of a year. The book is interspersed with practical tips, folklore, recipes and illustrations.

The publisher’s synopsis said: "It looks at both the small joys of engaging more deeply with her immediate surroundings, through foraging, growing and encouraging greater diversity of species, and of the bigger picture of the health of the planet. It will encourage and inspire readers to deepen their relationship with the natural world."

Stogdon commented: "I’ve long admired Poppy’s ability to educate and inspire others in a kind and empowering way and I believe this is a book that could open our eyes to the situation the world is in. We’re all excited to be publishing what will be an inspiring and practical book by a much-needed and impassioned new voice in the gardening and nature-writing space."

A trained horticulturist and regenerative grower who co-facilitates a community growing project local to home, Okotcha aims to show her followers on Instagram how to forage their own food.

She has been featured on BBC2 "Gardener’s World" and was the ecological gardening expert on Channel 4’s "The Great Garden Revolution".

Okotcha added: "An ode to the land, home and my ancestors, this book is an honest and hopefully inspiring glimpse at my attempt to live a more connected life."