Zaffre, the flagship commercial fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired The Dicktionary Club and one further romance novel by top ten bestselling author Sophie Gravia in a competitive pre-empt beating six other publishers.
Melissa Cox, publishing director at Zaffre, acquired World English Language rights from Oscar Janson-Smith on behalf of Professor Jonathan Shalit OBE and Milly Bell of InterTalent Rights Group.
Sophie is an NHS nurse with 30,000 followers online and works in a busy hospital outside Glasgow. In 2020, she started writing her first novel as a distraction from the ongoing pandemic, cheered on by fans of her hilarious blog, ‘Sex in the Glasgow City’. She self-published her debut novel, A Glasgow Kiss, which shot straight to number one in the charts and has been a word-of-mouth sensation ever since. She went on to be published by Orion with three further novels, each of them reaching a top ten chart position. A Glasgow Kiss is currently being adapted for the screen with BBC Studios.
The Dicktionary Club, is a hilarious and sexy read about friendship, love, and surviving modern dating. Best friends Ella, Katy and Zola work together in a Glasgow marketing firm and support each other through nightmare bosses and worse dates. After hitting rock bottom and hitting the bottle, they decide to start exposing Scotland’s biggest love rats, one date and one brutally honest review at a time on their exclusive, women only website, The Dicktionary Club.
Sophie Gravia said: “Signing with Zaffre is an absolute honour and an exciting new chapter in my career. Their passion for storytelling and commitment to bringing unique voices to the world align perfectly with my vision as an author. I can’t wait to see what we’ll create together! This is hands down my favourite book I’ve written yet! It’s a laugh-out-loud story about friendship, the bizarre world of dating, and all the wonderfully awkward, cringe-worthy moments life has to offer. I’m thrilled to return to writing about Glasgow and can’t wait to share the city’s unique charm and Scottish humour with readers all over the world.”
Melissa Cox said: “Acquiring this raucous and brutally relatable book is a real career highlight. I am thrilled to be able to bring Sophie Gravia to her new publishing home at Zaffre and then onwards to readers all over the world. Pitching for Sophie was a big team effort and we’re absolutely buzzing to have been entrusted with her future publishing.”
The Dicktionary Club will be published in paperback original, audio and eBook on 19th June 2025.
Author photo: Studio 10
