Doubleday wins 10-way auction for King’s ‘extraordinary’ memoir

Doubleday has signed Tracy King’s memoir Learning to Think as its lead non-fiction title for 2024. 

Non-Fiction publisher Susanna Wadeson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in a 10-way auction from Will Francis at Janklow & Nesbit and the book will be published on 7th March.

Learning to Think is described as “a shocking portrait of the everyday realities of living in poverty in Britain” and “an inspiring and extraordinary coming-of-age story about the liberating power of education".

The publisher says its marketing and publicity campaigns will “spark a bold conversation and celebrate the power of books, launching Tracy King as an important new voice for change". Moreover, “it will aim to create an army of champions for Tracy’s story through major partnerships with education and literacy organisations to tie in with World Book Day, a high-impact digital campaign and extensive bookseller outreach and engagement".

King will be touring with a series of proof tours, focusing on the booming independent bookshop community in the Midlands where she grew up, as well as literary festivals, library and bookshop events throughout the UK. The book will also be featured across the widest-circulating national print, online, TV, radio and podcast outlets, the publisher said.

King said: “Books saved me. As a child, buying a new book to own forever was the rarest of treats, but as I became a teenager it was a lifeline. I escaped to worlds far beyond my own small one, fed my starving imagination, and showed me that change is possible. I dreamed that one day I would write my own, but did not know how someone like me could ever go about that…. My memoir Learning To Think is the story of how a little girl escaped a maze of poverty and trauma and learned to think for herself. It’s also about the life-changing influence of books, and how a chance encounter in a bookstore lit up an entirely new path. But mostly it’s about hope, knowledge, and love."

Wadeson added: “Learning to Think is a remarkable book, brave, compelling reading with a twist. It is about all that Tracy says and so much more – the love of a child for her parent, what writing your story demands, the liberation that comes with learning and yes hope. It is funny. It is painful. And ultimately it is joyful and I want to press it into the hands of everyone I see. I can’t wait for publication next March!”