Gill Books pre-empts 'bucolic' lockdown memoir by Connell

Gill Books has pre-empted a "winding and bucolic" lockdown memoir by John Connell.

In his first acquisition for the publisher, commissioning editor Seán Hayes  pre-empted world rights, excluding North America and Canada, for The Stream of Everything from Marianne Gunn-O’Connor. It will publish on 5th May 2022.

The Stream of Everything is Connell’s third non-fiction book. It focuses on the Camlin river, as he and a close friend decide to canoe down its course – a two-day trip along a river bursting with life, set against the backdrop of the world growing still. As they meander downstream, John reflects on his own life: his travels, his relationships and his battle with depression, as well as on Irish folklore, climate change, geopolitics, social injustice and philosophy.

Hayes said: "When I read John’s book, I knew I had to publish it. The Stream of Everything is a reverie and a celebration of close observation: a winding, bucolic account of the summer we discovered home. I couldn’t be happier for it to be my first acquisition."

Connell added: "The Stream of Everything is the most personal of all my books – a work that I feel captures not just my mood but that of the nation’s as we all journeyed through this pandemic. I’m so delighted to be working with a publisher as wonderful as Gill and I can’t wait to get the book out and get back on the road to share it with new and old readers."