Bluebird buys Roxy Bourdillon’s 'nostalgia-drenched' memoir

Bluebird will publish DIVA editor Roxy Bourdillon’s memoir, What A Girl Wants: A (True) Story of Sexuality and Self-Discovery.

Jodie Lancet-Grant, associate publisher at Bluebird, acquired world rights from Laura MacDougall at United Agents, scheduled for publication on 17th April 2025.  

“What a Girl Wants is a warm, witty, inclusive and nostalgia-drenched memoir which weaves Roxy’s personal story together with pressing feminist themes,” Bluebird said. “It takes the reader from the DIVA editor’s teenage years, secretly gay in the suburbs of Leeds, on a journey of self-discovery through the streets of Sydney and the queer clubs of London, to a quiet life by the sea. Unapologetic and uplifting, this is a gorgeous debut, packed with frank discussion, empathy and humour. 

The publisher added: “What a Girl Wants is a book for anyone who has ever had their heart broken but made the kind of friends who can put it back together. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt out of place, whether that was where they grew up or because, like Roxy, they accidentally wore a 1950s dress and M&S pumps to a Berlin sex club. It’s for anyone who’s ever been catcalled, told they’re ‘too much’, lost someone they loved, but eventually, found their tribe.”  

It is aimed at fans of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love (Fig Tree) and Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman (Penguin), but with “a glorious queer twist", Bluebird said.  

Bourdillon is an award-winning writer and editor-in-chief of DIVA and has written for numerous other outlets, including Cosmopolitan, the Guardian and Attitude. Her work has earned her a place on both the Pride Power List and The Attitude 101: LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Changing The World.  

Lancet-Grant said: “I have long admired Roxy’s brilliant writing, and I’m thrilled to be publishing her at Bluebird. She has a rare ability to lull the reader into an almost false sense of security through how funny and warm her stories are, then skewer you with her knife-sharp observations about life. I know her take on everything from body image to porn and dating to diets will speak to an entire generation of women.” 

Bourdillon said: “Working at DIVA magazine has shown me just how powerful it is when we share our stories, so this is mine. I wanted to write with honesty, heart and humour about the reality of growing up as a woman, who happens to really, really love women, in a world that can sometimes make you feel terrible about both those things. I hope this book makes readers of all identities laugh, cry, think and – importantly – feel good about who they are.”