Jill Halfpenny’s memoir goes to Pan Macmillan

Pan Macmillan is set to publish actress and TV personality Jill Halfpenny’s debut, A Life Reimagined, exploring her life, grief and moving forward in dark times, to be accompanied by a high-profile publicity campaign. 

Publishing director Sara Cywinski and commissioning editor Lydia Ramah acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Morwenna Loughman at The BKS Agency. The book will be published in hardback, e-book and audio, which Halfpenny will read, in June 2024, accompanied by an "unmissable” press campaign.

“Jill Halfpenny will invite readers on an introspective journey through her life, sharing what she has learnt about deep love, profound loss and finding a way to thrive again,” Pan Mac said. “For the first time, Jill opens up about two major losses in her life and how after each one she’s had to find a way to reimagine who she is and what her life is, and could be, like. Detailing her journey towards healing and self-discovery, she shares with readers the transformative tools that helped her to find the power to face despair and the strength to keep moving.” The actress has spoken previously about the loss of her father, when she was four, and the sudden death of her partner in 2017.   

Halfpenny said: “My book is for anyone who has lost someone or something and feels as though they can’t live without it. It’s the story of how grief almost tricked me into accepting a life of fear and sadness. Until I learned some amazing lessons and began to see my life through a different lens. I want to take you on my journey and show you that our grief is not something we need to hide away and feel ashamed about. I know that it’s forever part of us but I’d like to tell you how I’ve learnt to live with it and learn from it.”  

“I want to take you on my journey of grieving and offer you some of the amazing tools and wisdom that I’ve been given. The biggest one being that healing is more powerful in numbers, so please join me.” 

Ramah said: “It has been a real privilege to work with Jill on this incredibly raw and brave book. What makes this book so special is that Jill has written every word of it herself and the result is one of the warmest and yet most candid memoirs of recent years. However readers come to this story – as a physical book or through the moving audio edition – I know that tears will be shed but also that lots of comfort will be found in Jill having bared her soul so completely.”  

Loughman said: “I could not be prouder to be partnering with the brilliant team at Pan on Jill’s debut book. Filled with Jill’s inimitable warmth, candour and humour, A Life Reimagined is that rarest and most precious of books: one that will leave readers wiser and kinder (to themselves and others) than they were before.”  

Halfpenny first appeared on British television in 1989 as Nicola Dobson in “Byker Grove”. Since then, she has starred in “Coronation Street”, “EastEnders”, “Waterloo Road” and, most recently, “The Holiday”. She is currently filming a seven-part series about Peter Sutcliffe, entitled "The Long Shadow", directed by Lewis Arnold, known for “Broadchurch”.