Tinder Press secures Rachel Elliot’s next two novels

Tinder Press has acquired world rights in Rachel Elliot’s Do Not Feed The Bear - "a very life-affirming tale of love, and letting things go".

The deal for the book, plus one other novel, was struck between Imogen Taylor, on behalf of Leah Woodburn at Tinder Press, and Gaia Banks at Sheil Land.

It follows Elliott's debut Whispers through a Megaphone, which was published by Pushkin Press in 2015 and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016.

In Do Not Feed the Bear, Elliot tells the story of Sydney Smith, a cartoonist and freerunner, who has never come to terms with the event that ripped her family apart when she was 10 years old. And so, on a birthday that she doesn’t want to celebrate, she returns alone to St Ives to face up to her guilt and grief. This trip turns out to be more life-changing than expected – not only for herself, but for her family and some of the locals.

Taylor called it "a delightful, spirited novel, full of interesting characters and told in such a unique voice", "a story of healing, about who you trust and who you know" and also "a very life-affirming tale of love, and letting things go". Tinder Press will publish on 8th August 2019 in hardback.

Elliott commented: "I'm so excited to be working with Imogen, Leah and the rest of the team, and very proud to be joining Tinder Press, whose authors I admire so much. It’s wonderful to have found such a creative and passionate home for my next two novels."