Dialogue Books wins three-way auction for Medland’s ‘revelatory’ book on ADHD

Dialogue Books has bought Attention Seeker: The Truth About ADHD by Amber Medland following a three-publisher auction.

Editorial director Hannah Chukwu acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025.

Medland is a writer whose debut novel, Wild Pets, was published by Faber in 2021. She has been published in the New Yorker, the London Review of Books and the Paris Review among others.

In Attention Seeker, the publisher says Medland “cuts through the media noise and reclaims the narrative history of ADHD, to uncover the reality of how ADHD affects individuals across society throughout their lifetime".

It goes on: “Structured around three themes – Self, Society and the Attention Economy – the book moves from exploring diagnosis, education and the gendered experience of ADHD to family, employment, addiction, the prison system and beyond.

Chukwu said: “This book is revelatory. Amber’s project is ethically and socially vital, and her thoughtful, intersectional approach to her subject is executed with extraordinary depth and nuance. Attention Seeker marks a significant breakthrough in the conversation around ADHD, and we are honoured to be publishing her brilliant work at Dialogue Books.”

Medland said: “I’ve wanted to write about ADHD for a long time, and that desire has become more urgent as public discourse around the topic has gotten louder and more confusing. I can’t imagine a better home for Attention Seeker than the trailblazing Dialogue Books, by way of the visionary Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander. I’m so excited to be working with Hannah Chukwu who understands the liberating nature of this work as well as its radical importance; this is a book about ADHD that people with ADHD will actually be able to read.”