S&S bags journalist Lauren Bravo's fiction debut

Simon & Schuster UK is to publish Preloved, the fiction debut from author and journalist Lauren Bravo, after securing the novel in a six-figure pre-empt.

Preloved tells the story of Gwen who, after being made redundant in her late thirties, takes a volunteering position at her local charity shop. There she learns that everything and everyone deserves a chance at a second life. The story is propelled by memorable characters and powerful vignettes which explore the history of the objects in the shop, some of which go on to help Gwen in her journey towards a new and more fulfilling life, the publisher said. 

Inspired partly by Bravo’s own time volunteering at her local charity shop, the novel is said to combine the "uplifting hopefulness of The Authenticity Project and the sense of community of The Lido, with the acerbic humour and whip-smart observations of Dolly Alderton’s Ghosts".

Commissioning editor Molly Crawford bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Jemima Forrester at David Higham Associates. S&S UK will publish the novel in hardback as a lead title in spring 2023, followed by a second untitled novel.

Crawford said: "I dropped everything to read Preloved. Even as a longstanding fan of Lauren’s writing, I was amazed at the strength of her fiction prose. Lauren has an enviable way with words; her wit dances on each page and brings a life and energy to every sentence. Gwen is a warm and memorable character, who you can’t help but relate to, and her story is enriched with an almost magical serendipity that readers will find impossible to resist. I’m overjoyed to be the lucky editor who gets to launch Lauren’s fiction career and excited to put the full force of S&S’s ambition and passion for Preloved into action."

Forrester said: "Lauren is one of the best in the business. She writes with humour, warmth and a truth that feels universal. Gwen’s story – and those of the (extra)ordinary people and objects she encounters on her journey – will make you laugh out loud one minute and clutch at your heart the next. Preloved is a novel that will speak with extra resonance to anyone who has ever found themselves stuck or thinking that their life hasn’t turned out quite the way they thought it would. I can’t wait for readers to fall in love with it as I have, and I’m delighted to have found such a passionate and creative home in S&S – and an editor who is as much a charity shop aficionado as Lauren herself!"

Bravo is an author and freelance journalist who writes about fashion, popular culture, food, travel and feminism, for publications including Grazia, Stylist, Refinery29, the Telegraph, the Independent and the Guardian. She is the author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?, How to Break Up with Fast Fashion – inspired by her year-long fast-fashion ban – and a contributor to the upcoming intersectional feminist essay collection This Is How We Come Back Stronger: Feminist Writers on Turning Crisis Into Change.

Commenting on the pre-empt, she said: "I’m over the moon to have found a home for Preloved at S&S, and with an editor who I just know is going to bring so much skill and enthusiasm to the book. Gwen is a character that I’ve had in the back of my head, and several notebooks, for many years now – and when I started volunteering at my favourite London charity shop, I realised it could be the perfect setting to bring her alive. It’s a book about feeling disregarded, dusting ourselves off and deciding what’s worth holding onto. I hope it’ll speak to anyone who loves old junk and half-overheard stories as much as I do."