Batsford to publish Lockdown Secrets by Eleanor Tattersfield
Tina Persaud, Publishing Director of Batsford at Pavilion Books, has acquired world rights to Lockdown Secrets by Eleanor Tattersfield from David H Headley at DHH Literary Agency, which is set to be a must-have gift book for Christmas 2021.
In the thick of the 2020 coronavirus lockdown, designer and shopowner Eleanor Tattersfield put out a call on Instagram: ‘I’ll send you a postcard, you send me a secret’. Lockdown Secrets is an astonishing record of what happened next. The book offers a compelling collection of anonymous postcards sent during lockdown, revealing hilarious, salacious, relatable and sometimes heartbreaking secret confessions.
Postcards poured in, some beautifully decorated, some simply handwritten, but each one anonymously sharing a very personal confession. They came from people of all ages and all walks of life, even including some celebrities. This book brings together the best of the postcards and all human life is here: furtive infidelities, bad behaviour in the local bakery, sneaking off for baths during a busy homeschooling schedule, rediscovered marital bliss, and, occasionally, poignant moments of sadness and despair.
The project has attracted media attention from all over the world, including pieces on Channel 4 News in the UK and 9 News Sydney in Australia, as well as coverage in national newspapers. A beautiful must-have gift this Christmas, Lockdown Secrets is a perfect snapshot of an extraordinary time.
Tina Persaud, Publishing Director at Batsford said:
“ We’re delighted to be working with Eleanor. Her Lockdown Secrets campaign reveals extraordinary confessions that vary from the hilarious to the heartbreaking. The beautiful postcards are a real insight into lockdown Britain.”
Eleanor Tattersfield commented:
“I’m thrilled to be working with the team at Batsford, as they get how exciting and important to the history of lockdown this project is and will pull out all the stops, like me, to get this beautiful book under every Christmas tree this year!”
Eleanor Tattersfield is the proprietor of Marby & Elm, a print workshop and stationery store on Exmouth Market, London, where she designs and hand-makes stationery. The shop started in her garden shed and grew into a family business, and her products are now stocked in Liberty London.
Lockdown Secrets by Eleanor Tattersfield will be published by Batsford on 7th October 2021, Hardback, £12.99, ISBN 978184994728
