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Quercus has acquired a memoir by bestselling French writer and musician Mathias Malzieu.
Non-fiction publisher Katy Follain acquired world English language rights to the memoir through agent Olivia De Dieuleveult, who founded her own agency, the Dieuleveult Agency, in October earlier this year.
Diary of a Vampire in Pyjamas is described as "a beautiful and highly dramatic account" of Malzieu’s close encounter with death.
Malzieu was diagnosed with a rare blood disease in November 2013 which made him highly anaemic and constantly at risk of a cardiac attack or fatal haemorrhaging. Malzieu spent a year in and out of hospital, having weekly transfusions to boost his blood cell count and underwent a series of immunosuppressive treatments. In need of a bone marrow transplant, he was saved by a revolutionary operation involving stem-cell treatment with the blood from an umbilical cord.
With "a punk gothic twist", Diary of a Vampire in Pyjamas turns this dark episode into "an inspiring, sparkling and uplifting reading experience".
Follain, non-fiction publisher at Quercus, said: “From the moment I read Diary of a Vampire in Pyjamas I knew I had to publish it. It is one of the best and most powerful memoirs I have ever come across. While it has echoes of The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly, it stands apart from anything else thanks to Malzieu’s brilliant mind, and his astounding skills as a writer. He has an understanding of mortality and the absurdity of existence that sings off each and every page, and as a reader you are left falling in love with life again.”
Malzieu said: “Quercus’ enthusiasm for my book has a magical quality to it. To be published by them and moreover in the language of Shakespeare and rock’n’roll is the cherry on the cake – a wonderful way of telling my story.”
Malzieu is the lead singer of the band Dionysos and is the author of five novels. Rights to Diary of a Vampire in Pyjamas have been sold to 19 countries to date, and will be published in the UK in February 2017.