Bloomsbury wins four-way auction for 'major talent' Yuan Yang

Bloomsbury has landed Private Revolutions, the "exceptional" non-fiction debut by Financial Times journalist Yuan Yang, after triumphing in a four-way auction and securing the title in a six-figure deal.

Commissioning editor for non-fiction Jasmine Horsey bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Matthew Marland at Rogers, Coleridge & White. North American rights were sold to Lindsey Schwoeri at Viking, also at auction, by Alice Whitwham at the Cheney Agency, on behalf of RCW.

The book explores inequality in China examined through the lives of five women. "China’s miracle growth story is well known, but underneath the surface lies a precarious majority," the synopsis explains. "This is China’s 90%, and their stories often go untold. Based on hundreds of hours of private conversations over a period of five years, Private Revolutions will take us inside the lives of five women born in the decades following the country’s economic opening-up in the 1980s. 

"They represent the juncture between China’s patriarchal past, its authoritarian capitalist present, and the rumblings of a feminist future. If we are to understand how China will shape the 21st century, Yang argues, we must start with the stories of the people shaping the country’s new social order."

Born in China, Yang moved to Yorkshire at the age of four. She grew up in the north of England before returning to China in 2016 as a correspondent for the Financial Times. She is now deputy Beijing bureau chief and, following a mass expulsion of journalists in 2020, is one of the few remaining English-language journalists in the country. The co-founder of the charity Rethinking Economics, she has also been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service.

"Governments across the world are grappling with the problem of inequality, which is now also top of the Communist Party’s agenda," she said. "I’m honoured to tell the stories of five women who exemplify the courage and challenges of China’s new generation. I feel extremely lucky to be working with Jasmine Horsey and her team at Bloomsbury to bring these women’s lives to a global audience. I hope Private Revolutions will inspire reflection on our common crises."

Horsey added: "With her unique vantage point, courageous reporting and deep understanding of inequality, Yuan Yang has done something exceptional. Private Revolutions promises to be an essential work of contemporary history in addition to a character-driven, human story about life in China today. Yuan Yang is a major talent, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to Bloomsbury."

Bloomsbury will publish Private Revolutions in spring 2024.