Granta acquires Hannah Stowe's marine non-fiction on proposal

Granta Books has acquired on proposal Hannah Stowe’s Move Like Water, a "beautiful and beguiling" non-fiction work about people's relationship with the sea and the creatures who inhabit it. 

Stowe is a marine biologist, sailor and artist and this book draws on her research at sea as well as her experience of sailing.

The synopsis states: "The book is underpinned by a powerful environmental message, but Stowe’s argument is made through the stories she tells – about swimming with her mother as a child, about listening to whale song, about being at sea at night – all of which encourage readers to fall in love with the seas as she has, to appreciate their majesty and their vulnerability." 

Deputy publishing director Laura Barber commented: "Hannah’s proposal captured my imagination from the first page, which featured one of her magical pen and ink drawings of a sperm whale, and her prose is just as bewitching.  This heartfelt hymn to the sea promises to be an unforgettable introduction to one of the most gifted nature writers of the new generation."

Barber acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Jessica Woollard at David Higham Associates, for publication in spring 2023.