Constable to publish essays on Scottish women's campaign featuring J K Rowling

Constable has acquired The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheest, a collection of 30 essays by the likes of J K Rowling and SNP MP Joanna Cherry, edited by Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter.

Andreas Campomar, non-fiction publisher, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Rory Scarfe at The Blair Partnership. Publication is scheduled for 30th May in hardback and e-book, and 6th June for audiobook.

The publisher says: “Through a collection of over 30 essays and photographs, some of the women involved tell the story of the five-year campaign to protect women’s sex-based rights. Author J K Rowling explains why she used her global reach to stand up for women. Leading SNP MP Joanna Cherry writes of how she risked her political career for her beliefs.

“Ash Regan MSP recounts what it was like to become the first government minister to resign on a question of principle since the SNP came to power in 2007. Former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss charts how changes in prison policy in Scotland led to the controversy over Isla Bryson. Survivors of male violence who MSPs refused to meet are given the voice they were denied at Holyrood.”

Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn said: “This book has been over a year in the making. It is a first draft of the history of five years of women’s campaigning in Scotland to defend sex-based rights, up to the point of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation in February 2023, told by some of the women who raised their voices. We are especially proud that it includes such a range of contributions, from the grassroots to one of the most famous women in the world. It has also been developed with an eye to discussions we knew would take place this summer around the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament. Recent events only emphasise its relevance."

Campomar said: “It takes self-belief and courage to champion a cause, especially one as divisive as women’s sex-based rights. These women risked their jobs and reputations, not to say their friendships and family ties, to speak out. The contributors in this book show how a climate was created, one in which true political change could occur. These are the women who wouldn’t stay silent.”