Faber signs 'revelatory' book from Cosey Fanni Tutti

Faber has signed a “revelatory” new book from writer and musician Cosey Fanni Tutti, author of 2017 memoir Art Sex Music (Faber). 

The untitled book will be released in spring 2022 after head of Faber Social, Alexa von Hirschberg, acquired world all language rights from Matthew Hamilton at the Hamilton Agency.

It will see Fanni Tutti explore the personal and creative connections between herself, the iconic 1960s electronic musician Delia Derbyshire and the 15th-century mystic visionary Margery Kempe.

Fanni Tutti began her career in 1969, becoming known for her performance art, her work in the sex industry, as the co-founder of pioneering  English music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle, and for her electronic music as half of Chris & Cosey and Carter Tutti. Her previous book, Art Sex Music, is currently being adapted into a film.

She said: “A few years ago I accepted the exciting offer to compose the soundtrack for a film on Delia Derbyshire and my subsequent research led me into territories I hadn’t anticipated, revealing unexpected connections between myself and Delia. Then while rummaging through the dusty shelves of a second-hand bookshop I came across an old paperback book based on what is recognised as being the first autobiography written in English, The Book of Margery Kempe, whose author was born and lived in King’s Lynn, my local town. As I got deeper into my research on Delia and Margery I was intrigued and surprised by how our worlds and our “recordings” of our lives revealed a shared dogged determination to retain a sense of self within the societies of our time despite the challenges of being constantly undermined and pressured to accept our “place”, to play our “part”. How we sought a sense of fulfilment and freedom.”

Von Hirschberg added: “This book will be a revelatory meditation on womanhood, creativity, self-expression, freedom and experimentation which will uncover the surprising links between three courageous artists. Cosey Fanni Tutti is an exceptional writer and this book will establish her as a pioneering literary as well as an artistic and musical voice.”