Elif Shafak and Margaret Atwood contribute to new title on democracy

Profile Books and the Financial Times (FT) have co-commissioned a book on democracy, written by women including Margaret Atwood, Mary Beard, Elif Shafak and Lea Ypi.

Profile’s publishing director Cecily Gayford and Juliet Riddell, the FT’s head of new formats, acquired world rights to Democracy: Eleven writers and leaders on what it is and why it matters, from the authors directly. The book will be published in paperback and e-book on 27th June 2024. 

The project was inspired by the FT’s series of film shorts “Democracy 2024”. The synopsis reads: “Democracy will reflect on the power and the promise of democracy, collecting writing from women thought leaders around the world. Women are at the forefront of the fight for democratic rights and tend to be most vulnerable when rights and freedoms are removed [...] the collection will explore the ancient origins of democracy, the power of open society to uplift lives, and the challenges that voters face from sham elections, corrupt leadership and disinformation campaigns.”

FT editor Roula Khalaf will chair an event titled “On Democracy” with Aditi Mittal, Elif Shafak and Lola Shoneyin at the Hay Festival on 31st May.

She commented: “This is a rare opportunity to bring together the compelling work of women from around the world. Women remain under-represented nearly everywhere in institutions of democracy so we are delighted to take the opportunity to amplify such a powerful range of perspectives and provoke readers to think emotionally and intellectually about the fragility of democracy.”

Gayford added: “At a time when democracy is under threat, these different perspectives – from journalists, academics, philosophers, leaders and writers – help us understand the world and our own rights at a time when it has never been more important.”