Tinder Press to publish 'intelligent' new book set on a Greek island by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
Tinder Press, an imprint of Headline, has acquired rights to Female, Nude by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. Mary-Anne Harrington, Publisher at Tinder Press, acquired British Commonwealth rights from Eleanor Birne, while she was at the PEW Literary Agency. Female, Nude will be published in February 2026 as a lead title for Tinder Press.
The novel follows Sophie, who is on holiday with her university friends at a Greek villa ahead of her best friend Helena’s marriage. As time goes on, Sophie begins to question everything about her and her friends’ relationships after the end of their student days. Her partner, Greg, wishes for a baby, while she wishes to devote herself to her art.
The synopsis continues: “During the holiday, Sophie paints a nude portrait of her host, Alessia, and becomes involved in an intense liaison with Ky, who lives and works on the island. Both the painting and the affair will challenge everything Sophie thinks she knows – and about how and with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life.” The chapters are “intercut with a series of letters from Sophie to the women artists whose work has inspired and sustained her” .
Harrington said: “It was a delight to lose myself in the deliciously evoked Greek island setting, but it’s the candour and intelligence with which Rhiannon explores her generation’s expectations of love, marriage, sexuality and friendship that have really stayed with me.”
Coslett said: “I’ve been living on this Greek island in my head for the past few years now, through a pandemic and a pregnancy and out the other side, and I’m so looking forward to finally seeing readers transported there with me.”
