Friday, March 29, 2013

W&N buys Malala's story



Weidenfeld & Nicolson's deputy publishing director Arzu Tahsin has bought rights to memoir I am Malala by Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.
Tahsin bought UK and Commonwealth rights for an undisclosed sum in conjunction with Little, Brown in the USA, which holds world rights. Yousafzai is represented by Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown.
The book will be published this autumn on both sides of the Atlantic as well as in India.

Last October 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face for standing up to the Taliban, after penning a blog about her life for the BBC Urdu service. She has since had lengthy medical treatment in the UK for her injuries and recently began to attend a Birmingham girls' school.
Since her shooting she has received peace awards around the world and 12th July has been designated by the United Nations secretary general as "Malala Day". The Malala Fund has been set up on behalf of her and her family, dedicated to the education and empowerment of girls in Pakistan and around the world.

Her memoir will tell in her own words what happened on the day of her shooting and the story of her determination not to be intimidated by extremists.
Yousafzai said: "I hope this book will reach people around the world, so they realise how difficult it is for some children to get access to education. I want to tell my story, but it will also be the story of 61m children who can't get education. I want it to be part of the campaign to give every boy and girl the right to go to school. It is their basic right."

Tahsin said the book would be "a document to bravery, courage and vision". She said: "Malala is so young to have experienced so much and I have no doubt that her story will be an inspiration to readers from all generations who believe in the right to education and the freedom to pursue it."


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