Seven Dials swoops for new ‘unputdownable’ true crime series by Attwood 

Seven Dials has signed Sitdowns with Gangsters and two other books in a new true crime series by author and YouTuber Shaun Attwood.

Vicky Eribo, executive publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the books from Robert Kirby of United Agents. 

Sitdowns with Gangsters will be published in trade paperback, e-book and audiobook on 20th July 2023 with a mass market paperback the following year. The second and third books will be published in consecutive years.

The publisher’s outline of Sitdowns with Gangsters reads: “Shaun Attwood is the man who talks to gangsters, drug lords and Mafia bosses. Infamously known for his time as the head of an international ecstasy ring in Arizona, Shaun has since turned his focus to gaining the trust of some of the world’s most dangerous people, interviewing and questioning them about their stories for his bi-weekly podcast that he shares via his hugely engaged YouTube channel. 

“Collated from his many hours of interview material, plus additional content exclusive to the book, Sitdowns with Gangsters author Shaun brings together 10 powerful conversations with the most gruesome and deadly gangsters of recent years.

“Filled with truthful, brutal and often redemptive stories, Shaun’s interviews feature international smugglers, Mafia enforcers and a man who escaped from Thailand’s most notorious prison. It is a gripping and compelling collection of stories that offers a glimpse into the lives and inner workings of some of the world’s most fearsome gangsters, and one that is unputdownable from start to finish.”

Attwood is the author of multiple true crime books, activist, speaker, YouTuber and host of "The Shaun Attwood True Crime Podcast" and "Attwood Unleashed". He is also a former trafficker who ran an international ecstasy ring in Arizona, before he was arrested in May 2002, and served six years in prison. This is his 14th book.

Eribo said: “I have been actively looking for a new true crime author with the potential to build a series of titles in this area of the market, so I was delighted to read Shaun Attwood’s proposal and even more thrilled to see that it ticked all the boxes of what I’d been looking for: pacey and compelling writing, brilliantly commercial stories and truly extraordinary access.

“Shaun has been an absolute pleasure to work with and we’re so excited to take the first in this series of hard-hitting, masterfully curated and perfectly pitched collection of stories to the enormous commercial audience they deserve in physical and digital formats.”