Faber nabs Jodie Harsh’s new book about the 'decadent' years she spent in London

Faber has nabbed You Had to Be There, Jodie Harsh’s book about a "hedonistic" decade spent in London.

Publishing director Hannah Knowles acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, and audio rights from Harriet Poland at  Creative Artists Agency (CAA)  in an eight-way auction, and the book will be published in autumn 2025.

"Jodie Harsh arrived in London aged 15 in 2001, heading straight off the train from Canterbury to her first club night at the Astoria," the synopsis says. "Intoxicated by this initial taste, she didn’t leave the party for years [...] Harsh grabs us by the hand and leads us back to those decadent times: from the Astoria to The Cross, the Soho Revue Bar to Mahiki, Boombox to The End and her famous friends’ houses; to a time before when social media and cameraphones were ubiquitous and when a life without their perpetual scrutiny allowed for a more liberated, hedonistic and creative existence. You had to be there, and Jodie Harsh was."

Harsh said: "For a decade, I barely slept. I jumped from club to club in a London that is now lost but not forgotten. My decadence almost destroyed me, but thankfully I kept on dancing. I’ve finally written the book I have always wanted to read, and I can’t wait to introduce you to the characters and the places that made it all so wild."

Knowles added: "Jodie’s writing is a high-voltage shock of brilliance, capturing with visceral immediacy what it means to be young, and eager to experience all life has to offer. With You Had to Be There, she recalls an iconic time in London, bringing back to life on the page the freedom and excesses that seem impossible today."