Brazen acquires Aja Barber’s 'irreverent' début novel Bad Vibes

Brazen has snapped up Bad Vibes, Aja Barber’s "irreverent" début novel.

Romilly Morgan acquired world English language rights from Jon Wood at RCW, and the book will be edited by junior commissioning editor Jane Link and published in hardback in July 2025.

"Hope is coming of age during the uncoming of an age," the synopsis reads. "The planet is slowly sliding into an anti-climactic climate apocalypse. Her professor parents have been exiled from their hometown for speaking truth to power. And when not casually living through a mass extinction event, she’s passed over in favour of mediocre white classmates like her blonde frenemy Ali."

The synopsis adds: "A decade later, Hope has clawed her way into a career as the uncredited mastermind behind the biggest anti-extinction charity on Earth. That is until [she] is made to attend an super-luxe fundraising retreat targeting repentant billionaires who are looking for their spiritual awakening…"

Barber commented: "When I wrote Consumed [Brazen], one of the most rewarding reactions was how much non-white women felt seen within the work. With Bad Vibes, I hope to achieve the same result. A lot of the book is specific to a Black girl’s experience in a very white world, but I think many of us can identify with lopsided friendships and toxic work environments all happening on a burning planet."

Morgan added: "Bad Vibes is an irreverent, wicked satire set against a burnt-up, smouldering world. Aja has done it again."