Quercus to fight fear with one from Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Quercus will publish The Fear Fighter Manual: Lessons from a Professional Troublemaker by Luvvie Ajayi Jones. 

Jane Sturrock bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown on behalf of Kristyn Keene Benton at ICM Partners. The book will be published by Penguin Life in the US.

Ajayi Jones' Ted talk "

" has over two million views on YouTube, but she was once afraid to call herself a writer and nearly skipped out on doing the Ted talk because of imposter syndrome, says the publisher. The Fear Fighter Manual will be a "transformational" book about how to tackle fear and "audaciously step into lives, careers and legacies that go beyond even our wildest dreams".

The synopsis reads: "We’re all afraid. We're all afraid of asking for what we want, because we're afraid of hearing 'no'. We're afraid of being different, of being too much or not enough. We're afraid of leaving behind the known for the unknown. But in order to do the things that will truly, meaningfully change our lives, we have to become professional troublemakers: people who are committed to not letting fear talk them out of the things they need to do or say to live free."

Sturrock said: "Luvvie is a guru to her fans, who love her unique brand of empowering truth talk, and it’s not hard to see why. Her infectious energy jumps off the page and this book can’t help but put a smile on your face and make you stand that bit taller."

Ajayi Jones commented: "The point is not to be fearless. It is to know we are afraid and to charge forward regardless, to recognise the things we must do are more significant than the things we are afraid to do. This book shows you how I’ve done it, and how you can, too."

Ajayi Jones is the author of I'm Judging You (Holt, 2016). The Fear Fighter Manual will be published on 2nd March 2021.