William Collins pre-empts Hinton's history of US urban rebellion

William Collins has pre-empted a “ground-breaking” history of urban rebellion in America by Elizabeth Hinton, professor of history and law at Yale University.

Editorial director Shoaib Rokadiya bought UK and Commonwealth rights to America on Fire from Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander Associates, on behalf of Adam Eaglin at the Cheney Agency. It will be published in spring 2021. North American rights were acquired by Dan Gerstle at Norton.

The publisher explained: “It’s often understood that the period of widespread rebellions across America in the '60s largely ended after the wave of protests following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. But from 1968 to 1972, there were thousands of urban rebellions across the United States, almost all of which were the responses of black communities to police brutality and racism. In America on Fire, acclaimed scholar Elizabeth Hinton will tell the story of these rebellions for the first time, offering readers an unprecedented framework for understanding the current crisis and a profound rethink of how we talk about urban violence and ‘rioting’ in response to institutionalised racism.”

Hinton said: “America on Fire draws from a tremendous, untapped archive to offer readers a new understanding of the civil rights movement and the rise of urban policing programmes in its wake. In a moment when protests for police accountability and racial justice are happening around the world, I could not be more thrilled that William Collins will bring this story to a UK audience, and to be working with the phenomenal Shoaib Rokadiya.”

Rokadiya added: “As the devastating consequences of police brutality in America ripple across the world, America on Fire is a vital and radical reckoning with how we got here. It’s a true privilege to be working with the extraordinary Elizabeth Hinton on this unmissable book.”

Eaglin praised his client as “one of the most gifted historians of her generation. This book promises to be an essential read and instant classic.”