Bodley Head bags Swedish biologist’s manifesto on importance of darkness

Penguin Random House’s The Bodley Head has acquired Swedish biologist Johan Eklöf’s The Darkness Manifesto, a “beautifully written” book on the importance of night and the potentially devastating impact of artificial light.

Stuart Williams, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Paul Sebes and Rik Kleuver of Sebes & Bisseling. Scandinavia and North American Rights went to Colin Harrison, vice-president of Scribner.  Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Swedish rights were also sold. It will publish in November in the UK and in Feb 2023 in the US.

The manifesto describes the importance of night-time and the potential hazards of too much artificial light.  It explains that omnipresent artificial light disturbs bird navigation and affects insect pollination, eel migration, and the survival of coral reefs, and that for humans, artificial light can lead to impaired sleep, difficulties in keeping focus and serious health problems. 

Williams said: “Eradicating darkness is yet one more way we are ruining the world and precipitating the collapse of nature. Here is a book to teach us not only that darkness is nothing to fear, and that it’s full of wonder and mysteries to be treasured, but that it is as precious as the ice caps or the rainforests.”

Sebes added: "Time has come to stand up for darkness and its magnificent beauty. We now stand before the task of defending ourselves against artificial light—for a long time the very symbol of progress and development. But the book is also beautifully written: Johan Eklöf is not only a biologist and an expert on bats, but also a poet. I won’t stop talking about this book until we’ve sold it everywhere.”