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Kaplan's 'dark' Hollywood insider tale goes to Penguin Michael Joseph
Isabel Kaplan’s novel about the “toxic underbelly” of the Hollywood TV system has gone to Penguin Michael Joseph (PMJ).
Editor Ruth Atkins and publisher Jessica Leeke acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and EU, to Not Safe for Work from Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein on behalf of Duvall Osteen at Aragi Inc. It will be published in hardback on 4th August 2022, following publication in the US by Holt in May.
Not Safe for Work follows an assistant in a major Hollywood TV studio in the early 2010s, described as "an ambitious young woman striving to get ahead in a world where a glossy veneer of glamour masks a deeply toxic underbelly".
Raven Leilani, author of Luster (Picador), dubbed it “a frank account of the inherent filthiness of leaning in… a study of the psychological, and at times literal, gymnastics that are required of striving women”.
Kaplan said: “I’m thrilled to be publishing with Penguin Michael Joseph and to have found, in Jess Leeke and Ruth Atkins, such astute editors and advocates, whose feedback strengthened the novel immensely. My goal with Not Safe for Work was to explore the experience of being a young woman in the workplace in a way that felt unvarnished and true to its complexities. The workplace of this novel is Hollywood, but I hope the story will resonate with anyone who has worked in an office, had a boss, and felt the boundaries between their personal and professional lives come crashing down.”
Osteen said: “There’s not so much as a beat out of place in Isabel Kaplan’s prose, with a wit to match. She makes it easy to champion her work, which is engaging, insightful, wry and frankly brilliant. What an honour to have found a home at Penguin Michael Joseph, with a team whose vision is sharp and support boundless.”
Atkins said: “I was utterly consumed by Isabel’s writing when Not Safe for Work first reached my inbox, reading it in a single night. The power struggles she explores will be instantly recognisable to all who have found themselves at the murky crossroads between doing what’s right and doing what is best for oneself. I am proud that it will hold a place on our list at Penguin Michael Joseph.”
Kaplan is from Los Angeles and wrote the YA novel Hancock Park, published in the US by HarperTeen. She has an MFA in fiction from NYU and a BA from Harvard and co-founded Project 100, a political startup dedicated to supporting progressive women running for Congress. She also previously worked in TV development at Fox.
