Morgan launches Brazen new imprint at Octopus

Romilly Morgan is launching Brazen, a new standalone imprint within Hachette’s Octopus Publishing Group, with the ethos of releasing “books to embolden”.

Each book published by the imprint will be “innovative in its approach, artful in its execution and broad and encompassing in its appeal”, Octopus said.

Morgan, editorial director at Octopus, explained: “Brazen will be a community for writers whose purpose is to embolden readers to question themselves and the world around them. Indeed, questioning is central to what we will be doing at Brazen as we aim to build distinctive, better books. I hope the imprint becomes known for publishing contemporary books with clout.”

The first book on its list is a debut literary work, small: on motherhoods by Claire Lynch, exclusively submitted to Morgan by Emma Finn at Conville & Walsh. Experimental in form, it has already garnered praise from Bernardine Evaristo, who called it “original, important, moving, funny — quite a feat” and Emilie Pine who described it as “a love story, it’s many love stories”.

Following in August is Grow: Motherhood, Mental Health & Me, the second book from Frankie Bridge. Morgan acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown. The book will combine Frankie’s narrative alongside her psychiatrist, psychologist and paediatrician’s supporting text and guidance. Her first book, Open: Why Asking for Help Can Save Your Life, published by Morgan in February 2020, was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Coming in September 2021 is a polemical work by Aja Barber called Consumed: On Colonisation, Climate Change, Consumerism & the Need for Collective Change. The book, recently announced, is billed as “a rallying cry for a more equitable and sustainable consumer future”. 

Brazen will also be turning Florence Given’s Women Don’t Owe You Pretty into a “contemporary classic” in September. The book, acquired by Morgan from Abigail Bergstrom at Gleam Titles, has now sold over 180,000 copies according to Hachette, featured 21 times in the Sunday Times bestseller charts and sold in 13 languages around the world. A “radical package and approach” will be announced by Given in the next few months.

Also publishing in 2021 is stand-up comedian and anaesthetist Dr Ed Patrick’s “wickedly funny and intensely warm” memoir Catch Your Breath. Morgan pre-empted World English rights from Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown. Patrick has performed across the UK, created and presented “Infectious Personalities” on BBC Radio 2 and has also written for the Guardian about the intersection between medicine and comedy.

Further non-fiction acquisitions for spring 2022 include Behind Bars: On Punishment, Prison and Release by poet Lady Unchained, also known as Brenda Birungi. The author, imprisoned after she got into a nightclub fight to protect her sister, sets out to prove there is life after prison with a collection of poetry tackling corruption and racism within the criminal justice system. Morgan and Sarah Kyle, assistant editor at Octopus, acquired rights directly from the author.

Also publishing in early 2022 will be David Challen’s memoir entitled Control. Morgan acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Jo Unwin at JULA associates for the book, which tells the story of the abuse Challen unknowingly witnessed throughout his childhood, the coercive control that led to his mother, Sally Challen, killing his father, and the subsequent “trial that changed everything for women”.

Octopus m.d. Anna Bond said: “Romilly’s new imprint is an exciting launch for Octopus as we evolve our publishing to include more narrative voices alongside our illustrated partnerships. Her 2021/22 titles epitomise the wide-ranging list that Brazen readers can look forward to.”