Mardle Books to publish Hunt's 'vitally important' book on sexual violence

Mardle Books has acquired Emily Hunt's We Need To Talk,  a mix of memoir and investigation that will shine a light on the fault lines of a system and a society that is failing rape victims.

Six years ago, the author was in a restaurant having lunch and the next thing she remembers is waking up, naked, in a strange hotel room, next to a man she did not know. She suspected she had been drugged and raped. She later found out she had been filmed without her consent. Later, failures by police, the Crown Prosecution Service and other parts of the system led Hunt to doubt that she would ever find justice. 

The synopsis explains: "This is a conversation starter about why we don’t talk about rape; that the only cause of rape is rapists, not rape victims; who commits rape and why; the reasons why society defaults to blaming the victim; and ultimately how we need to change and humanise the way we talk about rape in order to truly hear and support victims and end the current epidemic of sexual violence." 

Hunt said: "Six years ago I woke up in a strange hotel room next to a man I'd never seen before and suspected I had been raped. As a normal, law-abiding person I had faith that if I reported a crime to the police my attacker would eventually be taken to court to face a jury. I could not have been more wrong. 

“This book tells the story of my fight for justice, what I learned along the way, and how I have tried to change the system first from the outside and then as an expert government advisor on rape. And it tries to start a vitally important conversation about sexual violence – a conversation that we all need to be part of and I’m delighted that Mardle Books will be helping start it."

Publisher Jo Sollis acquired world English language rights from Alice Saunders at the Soho Agency. We Need To Talk will be published on 17th March 2022 in paperback, audio and e-book. 

Sollis commented: "This is a crisis situation that urgently needs open discussion and debate – and no one is more qualified than Emily to lead us into that."