Bodley Head triumphs in six-way auction for Shaw’s ‘urgent’ history of antibiotics

The Bodley Head has swooped in a six-way auction for Fossil Drugs: A Natural History of Antibiotics - and How we Burned Through Them by biologist Liam Shaw.

Stuart Williams, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Associates. North American rights have been acquired by Eamon Dolan at Simon & Schuster, via Zoë Pagnamenta on behalf of Clarke. The Bodley Head will publish Fossil Drugs in hardback, e-book and audio formats in 2025.

Fossil Drugs is described by the publisher as “a gripping science narrative about antibiotics that reveals how human discovery and innovation have also meant the exploitation and harvest of the natural world in pursuit of the ‘fossil fuels’ of medicine”.

Its synopsis continues: “The discovery of antibiotics was one of humanity’s greatest achievements, yet we didn’t invent them: bacteria did. In the 20th century, we stole this awesome natural power by working out how to create these molecules ourselves. We’ve since regarded them as a cheap everlasting fuel that powers modern medicine—but at what cost?

“Taking a different molecule as the starting point for each chapter, Fossil Drugs tells the story of antibiotics, starting with their origins millions of years ago as an invention of bacteria, and working through humanity’s mining of the oceans and soils for naturally occurring antibiotic molecules, all the way to the brilliant invention of synthetic versions in the second half of the 20th century. But like fossil fuels, antibiotics are an overused and finite resource. Through this fascinating account, Shaw reveals the urgent reality that if we are to adapt to the future of antibiotic resistance, we need to understand how they really work—and fast.”

Liam Shaw is a Wellcome-funded biologist at the University of Oxford. He received his PhD in 2018 and has published scientific papers on topics including the effect of antibiotics on the human microbiome, the evolution of antibiotic resistance in patients, and the global spread of antibiotic resistance genes. He writes regularly on science for the London Review of Books and co-writes a fortnightly column called “Science and Society” for the Morning Star, covering scientific topics for a general audience.

He said: "I’ve wanted to write about the history of antibiotics ever since I started researching them. Antibiotics are not only a story of the entwined successes and failures of our society, but also a window into the beautiful non-human world of bacterial evolution. I’m really looking forward to working with the team at Bodley Head.”

Williams said: “We are thrilled to welcome Liam to The Bodley Head and Vintage. He is a gifted writer who makes the story of antibiotics sing. It is one of human innovation and natural resource exhaustion, a science narrative elevated by original environmental and political angles, and also has the urgency of a red-alert warning.”