Coronet acquires ‘stunning and visceral’ secret memoir of a submissive

Coronet has acquired Submit by Sonnet, the “secret memoir of a submissive, and an unparalleled window into the hidden world of kink". Sonnet is the pseudonym of a businesswoman based in London and New York.

Harriet Poland, editorial director at Coronet, acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights from Lucy Luck at C&W. North American rights were sold to Maddie Caldwell at Grand Central. It will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook in September 2024.

The publisher says: “The anonymous author, a highly successful businesswoman, has experienced pain and pleasure beyond most people’s imaginations, and she’s spent over 10 years writing about her experiences. If you can imagine it, Sonnet has done it, and in this celebration of sexuality and all that moves, frees and connects us, she wants to tell people about it.

“In bright, wry and vivid prose, Sonnet reckons with the gap between what we really desire and what we’re told we should want; who we actually are, and who we’ve been told we should be. It is a landmark account of social mores, physicality and expression, and the ways society restricts pleasure.

“Full of thoughtful examination of what sex and kink mean, fascinating characters, and eye-watering accounts of canings, gangbangs and more, this is a sensational account of a world most of us only see in fiction. Most of all, it’s a clarion call for doing anything that makes us feel good…”

Sonnet said: “I spent a long time thinking that my secret sexual desires made me at best deeply weird, and at worst certifiable. But when I gradually began to explore them with other people, I found a world of beauty, joy and meaning… and a lot of laughter. I hope this book helps people feel less shame about whatever happens to turn them on, and maybe inspires them to connect more with their bodies and explore their own desires. I’m so thrilled to be working with Harriet and the Coronet team.”

Poland said: “In showing us her garden of earthly delights, Sonnet reveals what sex really means – why it matters, what it feels like, who we are because of it. We are unconstrainedly excited about this book; and we have learnt that we should never, ever, feel constrained by anything.”