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Serpent’s Tail has acquired I Came All This Way To Meet You: Writing Myself Home, a memoir by Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins.
In the book, Attenberg explodes myths about the creative life, reveals her own trailblazing path and how she found the courage to find her way and commit to her craft in her forties.
The synopsis explains: "From New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg comes a dazzling book about unlocking and embracing her creativity—and how it saved her life. In this brilliant, fierce, and funny memoir of transformation, Jami Attenberg reveals the defining moments that pushed her to create a life, and voice, she could claim for herself. What does it take to devote your life to art? What does it mean to own your ideas? What does the world look like for a woman moving solo through it? Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring and singular story of finding one’s way home—an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their own creative calling."
Publisher Hannah Westland acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, and audio rights from Sarah Perillo at Curtis Brown Book Group New York and will publish in January 2022. It will be published by Helen Atsma at Ecco Books in the US.
Westland said: "Jami Attenberg was the first writer I brought to Serpent’s Tail, and it has been a delight to work with her on a number of books over the years. She is the most generous of authors, and her 1000 Words of Summer/Craft Talk initiatives have seen her supporting developing writers and creatives from all over the world. This new memoir is written with that generosity of spirit, allowing us into the intimate space of Jami’s own experiences and creative processes, and gifting the reader with the wisdom and encouragement to embrace their own. This is a gorgeous, uplifting, and necessary book and one that should find readers everywhere."
Attenberg is the author of seven books of fiction (four published by Serpent’s Tail), including family tale The Middlesteins and All Grown Up. She has contributed essays to the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Sunday Times, and Longreads, among others. Commenting on the acquisition, she added: "I'm overjoyed to be working with Hannah Westland and Serpent's Tail on our fifth book together. The care they take with writers and the intention behind the curation of their immaculate list of authors is unmatched. I'm proud to be a part of it all with my first non-fiction book."