Cassell acquires Ben Arogundade's 'astonishing' Hollywood Blackout

Cassell has acquired Ben Arogundade’s "astonishing" Hollywood Blackout.

Trevor Davies bought world all-language rights directly from the author, and the book will be published in February 2025 in hardback.

"On Thursday February 29, 1940, African American actress Hattie McDaniel became the first person of colour, and the first Black female, to win an Academy Award," the synopsis says. "This marked the beginning of Hollywood’s journey toward diversity and inclusion."

It adds: "Since then, minorities and women have struggled for recognition within a system designed to favour white males. Hollywood Blackout chronicles the tumultuous stories of these disenfranchised talents from exclusion to inclusion; from segregation to celebration. The book [...] takes an incisive and critical look at the historical hierarchies within film, and examines how the Oscars have both reflected and perpetuated society’s discriminatory practices."

Davies said of the acquisition: "This book is both astonishing in its detail and gripping in its unfolding of the African-American experience throughout movie history, and that of other minorities outside of Hollywood’s white male domination. Many of the facts and stories are shameful and astounding in equal measure, and they bring to life the characters, controversies and stories of endeavour surrounding those non-white Oscar winners."

Arogundade added: "It’s been a great opportunity to write this book—the first and only one of its kind—and that has something for everyone, whether you’re a film buff, a history fan or a diversity advocate. It is a great educational piece, which will hopefully resonate for a long, long time."