Putnam signs with Richards and Broccardo's start-up Swift Press

Swift Press, the newly founded publisher of Mark Richards and Diana Broccardo, is gearing up for its autumn launch with The Upswing by Robert Putnam.

Putnam is best known as the author of Our Kids and Bowling Alone (S&S). In his new book, coming 5th November, Putnam, along with his co-author Shaylyn Romney Garrett, "examines the roots of America’s current malaise: deep and accelerating inequality; unprecedented political polarisation; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric and more—and suggests a way forward."

The synopsis reads: "Putnam offers a message of hope: by examining the economic, social and political trends over the past century, he demonstrates how America went from an individualistic 'I' society to a more communitarian 'We' society, and then back again—and how to once again create a stronger, more unified nation."

Swift Press publisher Richards bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown, on behalf of ICM/Sagalyn, for an undisclosed sum.

Richards said: "I’ve long been a fan of Robert Putnam, and his new book is a triumph—by starting the story a century ago, rather than the mid-1960s, he shows us how we’ve been in this polarised situation before; but also how we successfully got out of it. His data is American, but his arguments and conclusions are equally applicable across the Anglophone world. I’m thrilled that Swift will publish him in the UK for the first time."

Putnam said: "I am pleased to have the UK launch of The Upswing land in such capable hands as the newly minted Swift Press. My research has long resonated on both sides of the Atlantic, and I am impressed at the early path that Swift Press is creating for its success in the UK."

Richards left John Murray and Broccardo left Profile Books to team up and found the new publishing company, announced earlier this year, publishing across both fiction and non-fiction.