Bluebird buys Roxy Bourdillon’s 'nostalgia-drenched' memoir

'Bluebird will publish DIVA editor Roxy Bourdillon’s memoir, What A Girl Wants: A (True) Story of Sexuality and Self-Discovery.

Jodie Lancet-Grant, associate publisher at Bluebird, acquired world rights from Laura MacDougall at United Agents, scheduled for publication on 17th April 2025.  

“What a Girl Wants is a warm, witty, inclusive and nostalgia-drenched memoir which weaves Roxy’s personal story together with pressing feminist themes,” Bluebird said. “It takes the reader from the DIVA editor’s teenage years, secretly gay in the suburbs of Leeds, on a journey of self-discovery through the streets of Sydney and the queer clubs of London, to a quiet life by the sea. Unapologetic and uplifting, this is a gorgeous debut, packed with frank discussion, empathy and humour. 

The publisher added: “What a Girl Wants is a book for anyone who has ever had their heart broken but made the kind of friends who can put it back together. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt out of place, whether that was where they grew up or because, like Roxy, they accidentally wore a 1950s dress and M&S pumps to a Berlin sex club. It’s for anyone who’s ever been catcalled, told they’re ‘too much’, lost someone they loved, but eventually, found their tribe.”  

It is aimed at fans of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love (Fig Tree) and Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman (Penguin), but with “a glorious queer twist", Bluebird said.  

Bourdillon is an award-winning writer and editor-in-chief of DIVA and has written for numerous other outlets, including Cosmopolitan, the Guardian and Attitude. Her work has earned her a place on both the Pride Power List and The Attitude 101: LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Changing The World.'

[The Bookseller]