August Books snaps up ‘horrible history for adults’ from podcaster Katie Charlwood
June 20, 2024
Martina O’Sullivan, executive publisher for August Books has acquired world rights to the debut non-fiction book by Katie Charlwood directly from the author.
Katie Charlwood is a historian and sociologist with a mission to reveal the complexities of the lives of the marginalised and oppressed throughout history. She is the host of the popular history podcast Who Did What Now? and has a social media following of 343k on instagram and 339k on Tiktok. The podcast, which launched in 2022, has a global reach and hit #1 in the US podcast charts for history in March. Katie is currently on a live tour of the podcast in the UK & Ireland with remaining dates scheduled for Cork, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
The book, tentatively titled ‘Whores, Hussies and Harlots: The Incredible Lives of the Bad Women of History’ is an exploration into the ‘fallen women’ of history with figures including Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn, Ching Shih, Gráinne O’Malley, Mary Todd Lincoln, Margot Asquith and Coco Chanel. Crossing continents and civilisations, the book will explore how derogatory labels have repeatedly been used to control the ‘fairer sex’ and reevaluates the lives of these incredible women. The book is scheduled for publication in Spring 2026.
Charlwood said: ‘We have been conditioned to view history through the lens of pale and stale males, which is not only narrow minded but frankly, really boring! When you look at these women without this antiquated perspective, you get to see them for who they are, not what they’ve been painted as. I’ve always been hungry for history, and who doesn’t love a good tart?’
O’Sullivan said: ‘Katie is exactly the kind of author I love to work with on a topic I feel very passionate about. She knows her stuff and, more importantly, is able to communicate that expertise in a way that is entertaining, informative and funny which is all too rare skill. This book is emblematic of the history list I’m building at August Books and I can’t wait to share it with the world.’
For further information, contact Kate@canelo.co