Virago to publish Amy Raphael’s untold story of women in film  

Virago has acquired Cut! The Untold Story of Women in Film, by pop-culture critic and author Amy Raphael.

Editor Matilda Singer acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Charlie Campbell at Greyhound Literary. Publication is scheduled for January 2027. 

Singer said: “This book will be a long-overdue corrective, highlighting the trailblazing women around the world that have long been excluded from the canon, as well as those currently paving the way in a male-dominated industry.” 

Raphael said: “The struggle for gender parity in the film industry is real; the percentage of women working as cinematographers has risen from a shocking 4% in 1998 to just 7% in 2023. However, this book is, above all, a celebration of what women filmmakers have achieved since Alice Guy-Blaché became the first women director at the end of the 19th century. It will be an eye-opening, entertaining and accessible book for anyone who has ever watched a film.” 

Raphael is the author of Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock and A Seat at the Table: Women on the Frontline of Music, both of which were published by Virago. She has worked for publications including the Face, the Guardian, the Observer and Esquire and her other books include Mike Leigh on Mike Leigh and Danny Boyle in Conversation.