Pantera Press sells US rights to Kinky History by Esmé Louise James

Pantera Press secures significant six-figure pre-empt deal for Kinky History by Esmé Louise James

 

World English-language rights (excluding ANZ) have been sold to Nina Shield at TarcherPerigee, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in a deal brokered by Rach Crawford at Wolf Literary Services.

 

Kinky History: The Stories of Our Intimate Lives, Past and Present is an irreverent and provocative narrative non-fiction journey through human sexual history. The book draws on Esmé Louise James’s hugely successful Kinky History series on TikTok, which explores scandalous stories in the ancient world and the saucy secrets of famous figures, and SexTistics, a series co-created with Esmé’s statistician mother, Dr Susan James, to provide a contemporary snapshot of sexuality and gender identity. By placing the past in conversation with the present, Kinky History aims to build a more liberated, sex-positive future.

Nina Shield said, ‘When I opened Kinky History, I was immediately drawn in and delighted. It’s fascinating, entertaining, and deeply researched, and Esmé’s voice makes it immensely readable. Her knowledge and style have clearly resonated with an enormous community for her videos and I can’t wait to see how they respond to the book.’

Esmé Louise James said, ‘I am thrilled beyond measure to announce that we will be propelling Kinky History across shores and into a global spotlight. Over the past year, I have worked so closely with Pantera Press to create a book which will foster a safe and inclusive haven, delving deep into the intricacies of our complex history surrounding gender, identity, and sexuality. Now, this journey of discovery extends even further beyond our shores. This is truly a dream come true – one I cannot wait to share with readers worldwide. I could not be more grateful to TarcherPerigee for seeing the value in all we have created and giving us an opportunity for the world to join us in its pages.’

Tom Langshaw, Commissioning Editor at Pantera Press, said, ‘Now more than ever before, sex and sexuality are a global conversation, and when you take a broad enough view of the past – right back to the ancient world and even prehistory, as this book does – you realise how expansive our sexual history is, and how many forgotten stories there are to tell. It’s been a joy to work with Esmé on this book as her TikTok series has been exploding in popularity, and I’m thrilled that TarcherPerigee have seen the value in taking these stories global to build an even greater community of curious minds.’

Pantera Press will publish Kinky History in Australia and New Zealand in October 2023, with publication in North America and UK slated for Spring/Summer 2024.

Esmé Louise James (@esme.louisee) is best known for her Kinky History series on TikTok, where she currently has 2.3 million followers, and Instagram, where she has more than 400,000 followers. Esmé is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne; her thesis investigates the emerging genre of the pornographic novel in the 18th century. She has written a range of non-fiction articles for The Age, the ABC and The Conversation, as well as short stories and poetry, and in 2020 she was listed in the Top 30 Emerging Writers by SBS Australia. Esmé also presents the popular Kinky History podcast, was a speaker at TEDxSydney in 2022, and was nominated for Best Digital Creator at the 2022 AACTA Awards.

 

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For further information please contact Léa Antigny T: 02 8096 5192 E: lea.antigny@panterapress.com