Cape snares Universe in a Box with pre-empt deal

Jonathan Cape has pre-empted The Universe in a Box, a tour of the cosmos through the lens of computer simulations by Professor Andrew Pontzen.

Publishing director Michal Shavit acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Chris Wellbelove at Aitken Alexander Associates, for publication in 2022. North American rights were pre-empted by Courtney Young at Riverhead, with rights also sold to Atlas Contact in Holland, Italy's Adelphi, Debate in Spain, Zysk in Poland and Russia's AST (Russia).

Pontzen is Professor of Cosmology at University College London, and a Royal Society University research fellow. His research, which has won national and international awards, uses galaxies and other structures observed by telescopes to shed light on fundamental physics such as the nature of dark matter, dark energy, and the very early universe. To build a better understanding, he performs simulations on some of the world’s largest supercomputers.

The synopsis explains: "Simulations are uncovering the interconnected nature of the universe’s most exotic phenomena including dark matter, black holes, galaxies and inflation. The book will give a unique sense of how these areas fit together and interrelate as layers of understanding in a cosmic whole, arguing that their relationships are just as important as any individual theory.”

Shavit said: “With this book, Andrew Pontzen takes us on a roller coaster-ride through our universe in a way that has never been done before. Simulations are critical in helping us understand the cosmos around us, almost like being able to perform experiments on the entirety of space and time, but no one has written about them for a general readership in this way before. It is jaw-droppingly eye-opening and thrilling to get a glimpse into this world.”

Pontzen said: “I’m tremendously excited to be bringing the emerging world of simulations to a broad audience. The global effort to re-create the universe inside a computer has propelled forward our understanding of cosmology, enabling us to unveil how our planet, the solar system and everything beyond are sculpted by nature’s most extreme phenomena. I am delighted that Jonathan Cape, publishers of so many inspirational works, have acquired the book.”