Penguin Michael Joseph wins 9-way auction for 'urgent' memoir from Brianna Ghey's mother

Penguin Michael Joseph has won a nine-publisher auction for Under a Pink Sky, a memoir from the mother of Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in her local park by two teenagers on 11th February 2023.   

Non-fiction publisher Ione Walder bought world all-language rights for the book by Esther Ghey from Ruth Cairns at Featherstone Cairns, following bids from nine publishers. The book will be published on 27th February 2025 in hardback, retailing at £22. 

The publisher said: “Under a Pink Sky is the moving story of Brianna’s life and death as told by her mother, as well as a clarion call for improved mental-health support and better online safety for young people.

“As the devastating circumstances around Brianna’s murder emerged and with it an international outpouring of anguish and outrage, Esther felt moved to redirect her personal grief into campaigning to help others and to create a lasting legacy for her child. This is a book about finding threads of hope in the darkest of times, about transforming unimaginable tragedy into change, and about uniting to protect our young people from the threats they face in an increasingly unchecked digital world.”

Ghey is a campaigner for social media reform and is the founder of Peace and Mind UK, a service dedicated to improving mental health for young people through the promotion of mindfulness in schools. She has been interviewed across the national media, taken her campaign to the House of Commons and is an ambassador for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP).

A spokesperson around the debate on banning smartphones in schools and driving better digital safety for children, she has been named the Independent’s Most Influential Woman of 2024 as well as being listed among GQ’s Heroes of 2024.

Walder said: “Esther is a remarkable woman who has shown immense dignity in the face of unthinkable tragedy. I have felt so humbled to work with her and proud of how courageous she has been in telling her and Brianna’s story.  

“As a parent of a pre-teen, I feel the lure of smartphones and social media coming strongly down the track, and I have been shocked and galvanised by what I’ve learned from Esther’s work. This is a book that I believe every parent should read to empower themselves to make informed decisions for their children.”

Cairns said: “Esther shows us all what radical compassion, courage and true empathy look like. This is an important and urgent book.”