Viking nabs Kelsey McKinney's book on gossip in four-way auction

Viking has acquired the rights to Kelsey McKinney’s debut non-fiction work, You Didn’t Hear This From Me: Notes on the Art of Gossip, described as a "a deliciously insightful" exploration of gossip that weaves together journalism, cultural criticism and memoir.

UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired in a four-way auction by editor Alpana Sajip from Florence Rees at A M Heath on behalf of Dana Murphy of Trellis Literary Management. Publication will be managed in the UK by Shyam Kumar and Alexandra Mulholland. North American rights were acquired by Maddie Caldwell at Grand Central in an 18-way auction.

In You Didn’t Hear This From Me McKinney explores the "murkiness of everyday storytelling", Viking said.

The synopsis adds: "What even is gossip, and why is it considered a sin? Why are we obsessed with the details of celebrity drama and tabloid headlines? How do we use and abuse gossip – and why do we want to do it at all? McKinney dives deep into a range of cultural cornerstones – from the ’Epic of Gilgamesh’ as told by chatbots, to the scandalous betrayals in ’The Traitors’ – and captures the heart of gossiping: how enchanting and fun it can be to lean over and whisper something a little salacious into your friend’s ear."

Alpana Sajip said: “I’m delighted to be working with Kelsey on You Didn’t Hear This From Me. As an avid listener of [the podcast] Normal Gossip, I’ve long admired Kelsey’s captivating storytelling abilities – and I can think of no one better to delve deep into our cultural obsession with rumour, tattle and hearsay. From ’Gossip Girl’ to Socrates, You Didn’t Hear This From Me is a razor-sharp, fun and conspiratorial look at the art of gossip and the way we tell stories.”

Kelsey McKinney said: “I am unbelievably thrilled to have this book published by Viking in the UK and Commonwealth. You Didn’t Hear This From Me is the book I wanted to read about gossip when I first became obsessed with it. I’m so grateful to Alpana and the whole team at Viking for helping me incorporate the long, messy histories of gossip in the UK and Commonwealth – from the royals and Kate Middleton to ’Love Island’ and the Daily Mail."