Viking scoops 'brilliantly original' non-fiction book by Hornby

Viking has scooped a "brilliantly original" short non-fiction book by Nick Hornby, looking at the creative lives of Charles Dickens and pop star Prince. 

Mary Mount bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Prince and Dickens from Georgia Garrett at RCW. It will publish in autumn 2022.

Hornby said: “Prince and Dickens is a book about creativity, about the two most insanely productive men of their times and what they had in common. Where did it all come from? Why did they both get so angry about their respective businesses?  What was it like to be as famous as them? And how much did their addiction to work cost them?”

Mount added: "This short book by Nick Hornby is a brilliantly original book brimming with life, ideas and laughs. Prince and Dickens is a book about creativity, art, lives lived at their fullest and the imagination. It is a book I needed to read right now."

Hornby has sold 3.5 million print books for £23.2m via Nielsen BookScan in the UK, with his bestseller About a Boy (Penguin), on 837,478 copies across all editions.