Faber to publish Lally MacBeth’s non-fiction book on 'disappearing traditions'

Faber will publish Lally MacBeth’s debut work of non-fiction, The Lost Folk.

Publishing director Hannah Knowles acquired world rights all languages at auction from Becky Thomas at Lewinsohn Literary Agency, and the book will be published in June 2025.

"In The Lost Folk, Lally MacBeth is on a mission to breathe new life into these rapidly disappearing customs," the synopsis says. "She reminds us that folk is for everyone, and does not belong to an imagined, halcyon past, but is constantly being drawn from everyday lives and communities. As well as looking at what folk customs have meant in Britain’s past, she shines a light on what they can and should mean as we move into the future—encouraging us to use the book as an inspiration and become collectors and creators of our very own folk traditions."

MacBeth said: "When I started The Folk Archive in 2020, I quickly became aware that there was a need for a book that celebrated folk culture in a way that was inclusive and hopeful—a book that opened up the conversation of who folk was for and how it was evolving for the future. That I get to write that book is a great honour, and that it gets to sit with Faber is an even greater honour."

Knowles said: "Lally MacBeth’s brilliance lies in how she manages to shine a light on disappearing traditions in a way that brings hope and shows a way forward to what folk might look like in the future. Never indulging in rose-tinted nostalgia, she reminds us that folk is for and by the people, and, as such, it is incumbent on us to forge new folk ways while celebrating the old."