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Canongate has acquired Listen, the first work of non-fiction by author Michel Faber.
Publisher-at-large Francis Bickmore obtained world rights, excluding North America, from Claire Conrad at Janklow & Nesbit. Publication is slated for October 2023.
"There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres," the synopsis states. "But rarely does a book delve into what’s going on inside us when we listen. In Listen, Michel Faber explores two big questions: how do we listen to music and why do we listen to music?
"To answer these questions, Faber considers a range of factors that contribute to and enhance how and why we listen to music, which includes age, illness, the notion of ‘cool’, commerce, the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste and much more. Faber’s idiosyncratic and deeply philosophical book will reflect his lifelong passion for music of all kinds. Listen will change your relationship with the heard world."
Publishing with Canongate, Faber has written seven novels, three short story collections and a poetry book. In addition to the Whitbread-shortlisted Under the Skin, his work includes The Crimson Petal and the White and The Book of Strange New Things; which was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award and won the 2015 Saltire Book of the Year.
"All my life, I’ve been aware that I listen to music differently from most other people," he said. "It’s been yet another of those things that have made me feel like an alien in a world of humans. But what if my viewpoint could have a positive effect on people’s relationship with music and with the wider culture that’s pushing them to conform? Instead of trying to impose my tastes on the reader — which is what most music books do — could I help readers find ways of listening that are unique to them?"
Bickmore added: "From The Crimson Petal and the White to Under the Skin, Michel Faber has proved himself to be one of the most versatile writers of the past 20 years. We are thrilled to be publishing his first book of non-fiction, Listen, next Christmas. It is an odyssey into the power of sound and music that will make readers think differently about the very way we hear the world around us, as well as discovering a whole heap of new favourite tracks along the way."