Ebury signs Cotton’s ‘toolkit’ for focusing on the little things

Ebury’s Happy Place Books has acquired Fearne Cotton’s Little Things, described as “an interactive, everyday mental health toolkit to help readers counteract stress by making small, positive changes".

Lizzy Gray, Ebury’s deputy publisher, acquired world all-language rights from Amanda Harris, global m.d. of YMU Literary, with publication scheduled for 4th January 2024.

The publisher says of the book: “Packed with simple habits, useful tools and advice from experts, Fearne helps the reader understand their own worries and stressors, and to pause and respond rather than react."

Cotton said: “Stress is sadly becoming more and more ubiquitous and is detrimental to our overall health. It’s a subject I’m deeply interested in as I believe a different approach is desperately needed.

“Making huge promises to eradicate stress felt unhelpful so, instead, Little Things focuses on the small things we can do for ourselves to help us get curious about the causes of our stress, learn more about our own reactions to it and how better we can cope with it. It’s packed with interviews from experts but also people who have experienced extreme stress and have worked through it. It was a healing book to write, and I learned a hell of a lot."

Gray said: “This is the book the Happy Place audience and Fearne fans have all been asking for – a down-to-earth, practical guide to small steps that can make a big difference in an increasingly stressful world, delivered with Fearne’s unique empathy, guidance and understanding.”