Gallery Books seizes Muir's 'eye-opening' work on the contraceptive pill

Gallery Books has seized Kate Muir’s “eye-opening” work on the contraceptive pill. Alison MacDonald, commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask) from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown. It will publish 18th January 2024.

The publisher described the work as “a feminist call to arms meets practical guide to understanding the pill and other contraception”.

Muir has recently wrapped up making a Channel 4 documentary on the Pill with Davina McCall, entitled “Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution”, which will air in June 2023, and the book will pick up and expand on questions raised in the documentary.

Muir said: “Contraception has suffered from inequality and scientific neglect for half a century. The attitude is ‘if it prevents pregnancy, it works’, but women deserve to know more about the effects – good and bad – of putting synthetic hormones into their bodies for decades. There’s a younger generation rising up who feel they have been gaslighted for years about the side-effects of the pill, but they also want to know how to find the best hormonal or other contraception for them.”

MacDonald added: “A book like Kate’s is long overdue and much needed. As Kate says, around 70% of women take the pill at some point in their lives, and yet there is such a lack of understanding about the ways in which the pill can work for us.

"As well as imparting eye-opening and often alarming facts and figures, Kate looks to the positive ongoing developments in contraception, such as the male contraceptive gel and a start-up which uses medical history and genome sequencing to give women information on what pill or contraception will work best for them. Everything You Need to Know About the Pill… is the empowering and informative guide we’ve been waiting for.”