Self Esteem star Taylor’s début scooped by Brazen

Brazen has landed the literary début from Rebecca Taylor, best known by her stage name Self Esteem. 

Publishing director Romilly Morgan and George Brooker, now editor at Seven Dials (formerly of Brazen), acquired world rights directly from the author. The currently untitled début will be published in June 2023. 

As Self Esteem, singer and composer Taylor has given voice to the feelings of insecurity and misogyny-induced frustration through powerful, truth-telling lyricism, the publisher said. Now in her début, Taylor expands the ethos of her music by exploring the “devolution of woman”. The publisher wrote: “Taylor’s writing flouts conformity in both its style and content; defiantly taking up space and refusing to obey the societal assumption that there’s only one way for women to write.” 

“Rebecca is the poetess of modern womanhood,” commented Morgan. “Her writing addresses the onslaught of sacrifices women have to make and the expectations they are exposed to and internalise; ‘sexting you at the mental health talk seems counterproductive’. I am honoured to have Rebecca as a Brazen author.” 

Taylor added: “It has been a dream of mine for many years to write a book. I can’t believe it is going to actually happen. I love to write songs but to open up the parameters and explore wider themes is so very excitingly fertile to me. Thank you Romilly and George for believing in me and taking the chance to communicate my agenda wider.”