Fourth Estate pre-empts 'gripping' account of Ghislaine Maxwell trial by Osborne-Crowley

Fourth Estate has pre-empted a behind-the-scenes account of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial by Lucia Osborne-Crowley.  

Katie Bowden, editorial director, secured UK and Commonwealth rights to Witness: Trial of the Century from Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander. Allen & Unwin will publish in Australia. A publication date has not yet been confirmed. 

In November 2021, Maxwell was convicted of five counts of sex-trafficking of minors, and has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Osborne-Crowley covered the four-week trial as one of only four reporters allowed into the courtroom every day. Fourth Estate said Witness “will be a gripping true crime-inspired courtroom drama and a blistering critique of a criminal justice system ill-equipped to deliver justice for abuse survivors”. 

Bowden said: “Lucia Osborne-Crowley’s journalism has been vital in cracking open the myths surrounding so many important, talked-about trials and in challenging a system that seems stacked against abuse survivors. She is the voice we need in understanding better how the criminal justice system betrays women who have suffered at the hands of abusers again and again, and this book will be an incendiary exposé of how deep those biases run as well as a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at what many are calling the trial of the century, from one of the few journalists present for every moment of it. Fourth Estate are proud to be publishing it.” 

Osborne-Crowley added: “I am so honoured to join the incredible team at Fourth Estate, all of whom I have admired for a very long time. In particular, I am so excited to work with Katie, whose editorial skills, passion and instincts are second-to-none and who I know will take my work to a new level. There is no one I would rather be writing this book with. I am so excited to have the expert guidance and support of Katie and Fourth Estate, and I can’t wait to share the product of our combined efforts with the world.”