Picador snaps up 'incredible' novel by Hanna Bervoets following exclusive submission

Picador will publish Teach Me Everything You Know by Dutch writer Hanna Bervoets following an exclusive submission. 

Anne Meadows, editorial director at Picador, acquired UK and Commonwealth and audio rights, excluding Canada, from Lisette Verhagen at Peters Fraser + Dunlop in an exclusive submission. Rights have also sold in Germany (Hanser) and France (Le Bruit du Monde). 

Teach Me Everything You Know is a story of women, pain and deception, Picador said. In the wake of her wife Daniel(le)’s death, Jodie sets out to uncover the truth of her short life. Daniel was a maverick who took on the medical establishment on behalf of misdiagnosed women, but her actions were not always as saintly as they seemed. As Jodie begins to uncover the controversies of her legacy and the secrets that brought her down, she is forced to reckon with questions of pain, truth and love. 

Picador described Bervoets as “one of the most acclaimed Dutch authors of her generation", and published her first novel to be translated into English, We had to Remove This Post, in 2022, with rights sold in 14 territories. 

Meadows said: “Hanna is in a league of her own: inventive and daring but able to touch the reader and make them feel something. And Teach Me Everything You Know is an incredible novel: a twisted exploration of women, pain and alternative communities of support and love. It’s tense and clever, and a brilliant follow-up to the short-sharp blow of We Had to Remove This Post. We are so excited to have Hanna on the Picador list, and we can’t wait to share Daniel(le) and Jodie’s story with the world.” 

Bervoets added: “I am beyond thrilled to work with Picador again. They did such a brilliant job with We Had to Remove This Post and played a crucial role in its international success. I couldn’t have wished for a better publisher, and I eagerly anticipate working with Anne Meadows and the entire Picador team.”