Doyle’s ‘fresh, funny’ debut collection of short stories goes to Corsair

I Meant It Once, a “sharp and witty” collection of short stories – described as a “glorious love-letter to the quarter life crisis” – by debut author Kate Doyle, has been signed by Corsair, an imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group.

Olivia Hutchings acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Gráinne Fox at United Talent. It will be published in trade paperback in September 2023.

The publisher says that in the collection, Doyle “captures precisely that time of life when so many young women are caught in between, pre-occupied by nostalgia for past relationships, while trying to move forward into an uncertain future".

It adds: “In stories both lyrical and haunting, Doyle’s characters search for ways to break free from the expectations of others and find a way to be in the world. Written with crystalline prose and sly humour, I Meant It Once is a profoundly recognisable portrait of early adulthood and the ways in which seemingly incidental moments can come to define the stories we tell ourselves—for fans of Elif Batuman, Patricia Lockwood and Melissa Bank."

Doyle’s short stories have been published in No Tokens, Electric Literature, Split Lip, Wigleaf and elsewhere. She said: “Olivia has been the perfect reader of my collection and understands so clearly the themes of rumination, wistfulness, longing, and the illusions of memory. I’m beyond thrilled that she and the whole team and Corsair will be bringing I Meant It Once to readers in the UK.”

Hutchings commented: “Kate is a writer with a very exciting future ahead of her and this fresh, funny, inventive and incredibly relatable debut collection of stories captures the varied lives of women on the cusp of something – each with their own desires, ambitions, and memories of the past that still trouble their present. If you enjoy Patricia Lockwood, Jenny Offill, or Greta Gerwig’s films, this one’s for you.”