Sphere scoops Temple's 'adventures for the anxious' memoir

Sphere has bought a memoir, billed as a "book of adventures for the anxious", from Very British Problems creator Rob Temple.

Hannah Boursnell, editorial director at Sphere non-fiction, acquired world rights to Born to be Mild from Juliet Mushens at Caskie Mushens.

Born to be Mild follows the journalist as he “attempts to complete 50 ‘adventures’, ranging from the mundane (visiting the world’s most popular service station) to the insane (attempting to run an ultra-marathon)”. It explores his own issues with anxiety “whilst retaining his trademark dry humour” and will published in hardback in September 2020.

Temple is the creator of the Very British Problems series and has more than four million followers on his Twitter account @SoVeryBritish. He has produced three Very British Problems books so far for Sphere beginning in 2013, with the last deal signed in 2017, which have sold 150,761 books for £1m according to Nielsen BookScan. There has also been a Channel 4 TV show, “Very British Problems” based on the Twitter feed, a greetings card range, T-shirts, and a board game.

Temple said of the deal: "I'm overjoyed to be working with Hannah and the Little, Brown team again, it's always a lot of slightly awkward fun."

Boursnell said, “I’m delighted that Rob will have the opportunity in Born to be Mild to demonstrate to his many fans that he can write in more than 280-character bursts. Rob’s a very talented chap and I know readers will be as touched as I have been by this honest, insightful and funny book of adventures for the anxious.”