HarperNonFiction gets dynamite with a laser beam in Freddie Mercury's personal archives

HarperNonFiction and Dey Street Books have acquired Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s A Life in Lyrics, the singer’s "official creative legacy" based on previously unseen personal archives left to his former fiancée and friend Mary Austin. HarperNonFiction and HarperNorth managing director and publisher Sarah Emsley negotiated the world all-language rights deal in 2024 for HarperNonFiction with Charlotte Merritt at Andrew Nurnberg Associates in partnership with Carrie Thornton at Dey Street in the US.

Much of the archive of notebooks, previously unpublished material, alternate lyrics and abandoned verses were discovered by Austin in 2023 while cataloguing the contents of Garden Lodge, the Kensington house she was given by Mercury after his death in 1991. The book will be accompanied by stories, memories and anecdotes, as well as photographs from the collection.     

Austin said that seeing the material "stirred up many memories from decades past, of conversations, occasions and emotions. Freddie’s songs continue to bring so much happiness and solace, to so many. I hope that by sharing his manuscripts now, contextualised with fresh insights and a sprinkling of vignettes of our lives together, I will illuminate the remarkable creative force of my dear friend".

A Life in Lyrics will be published in the first week of September 2026, to correspond with what would have been Mercury’s 80th birthday. Queen’s record comany Sony Music will support the book’s release.   

Emsley said: “Like many music fans, the soundtrack of my life is packed full of Queen songs. Every time I hear them, I am transported back to moments that I treasure with people that I love, so listening to Mary’s memories of how these songs came about and seeing them come to life on the page is absolute magic.”