Borough Press takes two more from Shriver

The Borough Press and HarperCollins US have signed another novel and the first non-fiction collection from Lionel Shriver.

A world English deal was done by Suzie Dooré, publishing director of Borough Press, and Gail Winston, executive editor at Harper US, with Kimberly Witherspoon and Lyndsey Blessing at Inkwell Management.

The novel, Should We Stay Or Should We Go?, will publish in summer 2021 and centres on a couple who decide in their 50s that when both have reached 80 they will enter into a euthanasia pact. But as the time draws near, will they change their minds?

A book of essays, Putting Away Childish Things, will draw together both previously published journalism and hitherto-unseen pieces. Topics will include religion, death, fame and family, and the collection will publish in 2022.

Suzie Dooré said: “Lionel’s new novel is deliciously dark and inventive, and like her much-loved The Post-Birthday World it spins off into alternative plotlines depending on the protagonists’ decisions: Lionel is a master storyteller, and this is just as entertaining and visionary as we have come to expect. I’m delighted that we will also be publishing her first collection of non-fiction, as she has become known almost as much for her journalism as her novels and has a lot to say on a variety of fascinating subjects. I’m hoping readers will experience the collection as the closest thing possible to a late-night dinner party with energetic and wide-ranging discussions (over a lot of red wine!).”

Shriver added: “I've rarely enjoyed writing a novel so much as I have Should We Stay Or Should We Go?, which is always a good sign. It's been gratifying that HarperCollins shares my enthusiasm, and we all look forward to getting this baby out the door ASAP! And it's harder and harder for non-fiction to keep up with reality, but Harper and I will join forces in the crafting of an essay collection that, with a lot of luck and a little foresight, might stand the test of time.  After all, some problems will be forever with us.”