The Bodley Head triumphs in 14-way auction for Potter’s history of the Roma

The Bodley Head has won Madeline Potter’s The Roma: A Travelling History in a 14-publisher auction.

Stuart Williams, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Matt Turner at RCW. North American rights were acquired at auction by Emily Graff at Harper. German rights were acquired by Ullstein on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Bodley Head will publish in hardback, e-book and audio formats in 2025.

The Roma is described as “a narrative history of the Romani people’s long journey from northern India, from the 16th century through the present day, spotlighting the forgotten stories of Romani individuals and communities around Europe, in Britain, the United States and beyond.”

In it, Potter includes first-hand accounts of stereotyping, marginalisation and racism as a Romani woman, “to create a history that addresses our past and present equally".

The publisher describes the book as “both an expansive and intimate exploration of othered and misunderstood people”, adding: “Potter’s book uncovers the struggles the Roma have faced and continue to face, highlighting the unique stories of various Romani groups, celebrating their individual traditions, and describing their particular challenges.”

Potter was born in Romania in 1989 and grew up Romani in nineties post-Communist Romania. She now lives in Manchester and is a scholar of 19th-century literature at Edge Hill University, having earned a PhD in 2020. Her academic monograph Theological Monsters: Religion and Irish Gothic will be published in 2024. The Roma is her first trade book.

She said: “I am absolutely thrilled that The Roma has found a home with Bodley Head. The Roma remain one of the most demonised and misunderstood groups, our history and current challenges clouded by misinformation and stereotypes. I hope this book will help readers understand our real history – a raw, human, history, moving beyond preconceived ideas; a place-based history of our migration from northern India to Europe some thousand years ago, which pays tribute to our nomadic tradition but, importantly, celebrates those who still travel and those who have been settled for varying amounts of time equally.

“While there is no sugar-coating of the Romani experience in my book, which looks at the tender and tragic tales of my people across Europe, The Roma is a history of resistance; and I am delighted to work with Stuart Williams to bring this history to life, and to make this celebration of Romani culture a reality.”

Williams said: “This will be a singularly important and authentic book. Maddy’s writing is deeply felt and deeply lyrical. She weaves the past, present and the personal together into a captivating travelling history of a people.”