Transworld wins 'extraordinary' King memoir in seven-way auction

Transworld has won a seven-way auction for the “extraordinary” first book by science writer and debunker Tracy King.

Head of non-fiction Susanna Wadeson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Will Francis at Janklow & Nesbit for Learning to Think. Scheduled for publication in early 2022, the book had been hotly tipped before the London Book Fair was cancelled.

King’s memoir begins with the death of her father when she was 12, and details family life in the 1980s estate where they lived, addressing issues such as alcoholism, truancy, agoraphobia and the chaos of the aftermath of loss. It is also about “imaginative freedom, and the liberating power of a scientific view of the world” the publisher said. 

Wadeson said: "Learning to Think is not only an extraordinary story, it is a remarkable, visceral piece of writing. Tracy has an astonishingly powerful voice and the material resonates in so many ways. This is a book about fear, superstition and faith, about what comes with poverty and trauma, but also about how we find happiness, the importance of science, and ultimately about learning to think for oneself. It is mesmerising, shocking, brilliant.”

King added: “I’m so proud and excited to be working with Susanna and the incredible team at Transworld to share my story.”