September Publishing acquires Emily MacGregor’s new book on music and grief

September Publishing has scooped an “exquisitely written” exploration of music and grief by broadcaster, journalist and musicologist Dr Emily MacGregor.

Publisher and founder Hannah MacDonald bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Ben Dunn at DunnFogg, and the book will be published in hardback, audio and e-book in spring 2025.

The book is described as “an illuminating, personal exploration of listening and playing music written in the wake of her father, a jazz guitar player’s, death”. MacDonald said: “What I loved about Emily’s manuscript was the beautiful, immersive reading experience, one which demands the right soundtrack.”

The publisher added: “When her father dies Emily finds that music has become too much, too difficult to cope with, and that she cannot listen to anything any more. This is problematic given that she is a broadcaster, writer and academic working with classical music. But it leads her on a journey of discovery; from the arrangement of an Isaac Albéniz piece she finds on her father’s guitar stand, through encounters with psychologists, orchestras, summer schools and funeral celebrants to the lives and works of individual composers, writing music so often in the midst of loss.”