Sphere to publish 'necessary' essay collection on coronavirus pandemic

Sphere is publishing a collection of essays providing "a new non-fiction take on the Covid-19 pandemic". Titled A Little Light, it contains contributions from journalists including the science editors of both the Times and the Telegraph.

Publishing director Ed Wood is bringing out the collection in e-book in June and in hardback in September. The Little, Brown rights team are handling translation and US rights.

The collection will comprise 20 pieces from a range of journalists on how the response to the pandemic could potentially help change things for the better, both in the UK and abroad.

According to Sphere, while being "balanced and rigorous in its approach", the book aims "to give readers greater context and perspective, helping to ease their anxiety and give them more understanding of the changing world." 

Subjects include: the boom in flexible working infrastructure, reduction in carbon emissions, advances in medical technology, our relationship with nature, planning for further pandemics, online cultural conversation, and the reinvention of the neighbourhood.

The authors are: the Times science editor Tom Whipple (represented by Sarah Williams of the Sophie Hicks Agency); Telegraph science editor Sarah Knapton; author and columnist Lucy Mangan; Business Insider senior reporter Lindsay Dodgson; and Guardian tech editor Alex Hern.

Ed Wood said: "I can’t count how many emails I’ve read that start with what a frightening and confusing time we’re living in. Here is a short collection of pieces by experts that might help to alleviate some of that feeling, both in the current eye of the storm and later, as we look back on this year. This is a vital, necessary book."