Transworld wins Dawn Butler’s memoir at auction

Labour MP Dawn Butler’s début, A Purposeful Life, has gone to Transworld. 

Lucy Oates, senior commissioning editor, bought world English language rights at auction from Charlotte Robertson at Robertson Murray Literary Agency. It will be published in July 2023 by Transworld’s recently launched non-fiction imprint Torva. 

The Labour MP for Brent Central “represents groups and people in society who are often under-represented,” Transworld said. 

The blurb for A Purposeful Life reads: “One of six children, born and raised in East London to ex-pats from Jamaica, Dawn Butler’s desire to enter politics came from a deep-rooted commitment to address inequality, and strong values imparted by her parents. In this book, for the first time Dawn shares the values, people, places and beliefs that have helped her forge her own authentic path to power. As the third Black woman ever to be elected as an MP, Dawn made history as the first elected African Caribbean female minister in the UK. Dawn is a true trailblazer who speaks truth to power, and now she wants to give others the courage and conviction to dream big and improve the world around them. 

“Drawing off lessons from her own life, Dawn shows how traditional routes to success and power are outdated, revealing that sometimes unexpected unconventional actions can have a disproportionally large impact.”  

Throughout the book Butler “outlines the key things that have shaped her worldview and motivated her work, including celebrating the strength of diverse communities, looking at an issue from all angles, and embracing intersectionality to drive real change”. Transworld added that the book was “uplifting and hopeful, showing how anybody can make positive change, even when everything feels broken around them”. 

Oates said: “I have always admired Dawn Butler’s tireless and influential campaigning to eradicate injustice. No matter where we stand on the political spectrum, we can’t deny that more people need to have their voices and stories heard in order to improve the future of our workplaces, our communities and society as a whole [...] there’s nobody better to show us how to embrace our power and step up.” 

Butler commented: “When I was younger my parents taught me to be resilient and my brothers told me to be resistant, and now I think it is time for a revolution. I have always looked to new themes to inspire and empower myself and those around me. It’s time to ditch the career ladder and develop escalators and lifts to help others lean into their power and get to higher places of influence.” 

Butler was named the “most promising feminist under 35” by New Statesman magazine, MP of the Year at the 2009 Women in Public Life Awards and as one of the 25 most influential women in the UK in 2020 by Vogue.