Virago to release 20th anniversary edition of The Vagina Monologues

Virago will publish the 20th anniversary edition of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues with exclusive new material, accompanied by a fundraising performance from Hachette staff.

The expanded 20th anniversary edition of the international sensation will feature six new monologues as well as new foreword by National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, a new introduction by the author, and a new afterword by One Billion Rising director Monique Wilson on the stage phenomenon's global impact. The paperback edition will be published on 9th January retailing at £9.99.

The publication will be accompanied by a fundraising performance at the Hachette UK’s London offices on Valentine’s Day. Auditions of Hachette staff will take place before Christmas the performance in the Hachette auditorium will raise money for the charity V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls, formed by Ensler.

Antonia Hodgson, editor-in-chief at Little, Brown described the title, which has been translated into 45 languages, as a “masterpiece” and “an extraordinary force for change”.

She said: “When I first published The Vagina Monologues in Virago back in 2001, I knew it was a profound, revolutionary book. A book of celebration and defiance, wisdom and purpose. It is moving to see now, all these years later, just what an impact it has had on countless lives.

“Publishing this new edition – 20 years after the play was first performed – is an honour. There is no question The Vagina Monologues is a masterpiece. Along with V-Day, it is also an extraordinary force for change – a light in the dark.” 

Ensler is a playwright, performer and activist and is the founder and artistic director of V-Day, which has raised more than $100 million in nineteen years. She is the recipient of many awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship Award in Playwriting, and has received numerous honorary degrees.