Brazen acquires Japanese bookseller’s debut novel The Bookshop Woman

Brazen, an imprint of Octopus Books, has acquired The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada, translated from Japanese by Cat Anderson.

Romilly Morgan, publishing director, acquired English language UK and Commonwealth rights from Li Kangqin at New River Literary on behalf of Kohei Hattori at The English Agency and Kawade Shobo Shinsha. The Bookshop Woman will be published on 6th June 2024.

The synopsis reads: “Nanako Hanada’s life is in crisis. Recently separated from her husband, living in youth hostels and internet cafes, her work is going no better. Book sales at the eccentric Village Vanguard bookshop in Tokyo, which Nanako manages, are dwindling. Fallen out of love in all aspects of her life, Nanako realises how narrow her life has become, with no friends outside of her colleagues, and no hobbies apart from reading and arranging books.

“That’s when Nanako, in a bid to inject some excitement into her life, joins a meet-up site where people meet for 30-minute bursts to find romance, build a network, or just share ideas. She describes herself as a sexy bookseller who will give you a personalised book recommendation. In the year that follows, Nanako meets an eclectic range of strangers, some of whom wanted more than just a book, others she became real friends with."

The publisher describes the book as “written with a subtle but sharp sense of humour”, which “offers a glimpse into bookselling in Japan and the quirky side of Tokyo and its people".

Hanada is a bookseller in Tokyo. The Bookshop Woman was a Japanese bestseller, the royalties of which allowed her to open up her own bookshop, Kani Books, in Tokyo.

Brazen says publication of The Bookshop Woman will be accompanied by an ambitious marketing and publicity campaign that will champion booksellers at its core. Early stages of the campaign will include outreach to key booksellers and independent bookshops with exclusive proof chapters and access to custom pre-order assets and videos and the campaign team will partner with an independent bookshop to offer personalised book recommendations to customers.

The Bookshop Woman will publish into Independent Bookshop Week 2024 where the campaign team will work with The Booksellers Association on a combination of “exciting in-store activities and interactive online content”.

Hanada commented: “I’m so delighted to be able to share my slightly strange real-life adventure with readers in English. If life isn’t going smoothly right now and you’re feeling hopeless, or if you’re someone who just can’t live without books, then this story is for you.”