Headline buys Dr Madeleine Pownall’s work on women’s contributions to psychology

Headline has bought Dr Madeleine Pownall’s book on the history of psychology: Absent Minds.  

Assistant editor Holly Purdham acquired world rights directly from the author. The book is scheduled for May 2026. 

“There is a gaping hole in the history of psychology,” the publisher said. “Women are absent from the legacy of psychological knowledge, despite their important contributions that have shaped contemporary understanding of the mind, brain and behaviour.” 

Headline said Absent Minds will be the “first comprehensive account of psychology’s missing history, highlighting the groundbreaking and unconventional ways women made their own path in the discipline and shaped it for future generations”. 

Purdham said: “From reading the very first pages I knew this was going to be a special book. In unveiling the true history of psychology, Absent Minds marks an important and much-needed moment for honouring the incredible women at the forefront of the field. Each story Dr Pownall shares blows me away and I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with her on this timely book.” 

Dr Pownall added: “For years now I have been discovering fascinating, shocking and beautiful stories about women’s contributions to psychology, nestled away in the archives and hidden from the mainstream. Women have contributed to the discipline throughout the whole of history, but, until now, are yet to be honoured in their own right. I see Absent Minds as a celebration: my extended love letter to the founding mothers of my discipline.”