Headline signs Gordon’s ‘long-anticipated’ follow-up to Mad Girl

Headline has acquired Mad Woman by author and journalist, Bryony Gordon, the follow-up to her previous book Mad Girl (2016).

World rights excluding Canada and the US were acquired from Nelle Andrew at Rachel Mills Literary by Sarah Emsley, who is now at HarperCollins. Yvonne Jacob, deputy publishing director, will be editing. A special edition of Mad Girl featuring a sample chapter from Mad Woman will be published on 6th July 2023. Mad Woman will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook in February 2024.

The publisher said: "Ten years on from first writing about her own experiences of mental illness, Bryony Gordon still receives messages about the effect her writing has on people. Now perimenopausal and well into the next stage of her life, parenting an almost-adolescent, the book asks, just what has that experience – and that connection with other unwell people – taught Bryony about herself, and the society we live in? What has she learned, and why have her views on mental health changed so radically?"

The publisher continues: “After coming out the other side of the biggest trauma of our living memory – a global pandemic – existing in a state of perma-crisis has now become our new normal. From burnout and binge eating, to living with fluctuating hormones and the endless battle to stay sober, Bryony begins to question whether she got mental illness wrong in the first place.

“Is it simply a chemical imbalance, or rather a normal response from your brain telling you that something isn’t right? Mad Woman explores the most difficult of all the lessons she’s learned over the last decade – that our notion of what makes a happy life is the very thing that’s making us so sad.”

Jacob said: "I’m a huge admirer of Bryony’s writing and her trademark trifecta of wit, honesty and insight and I can’t wait to see this book connect with a whole new generation of mad women.”

Gordon added: “After a long period of darkness, I’m ecstatic to be moving towards the light with Mad Woman. I hope it will provide comfort to anyone else experiencing mental health issues. It’s such an honour to grow from a mad girl to mad woman and have Headline support me on this journey.”