Nicola Sturgeon has started to write her memoir
Nicola Sturgeon says she is writing a memoir covering her proudest achievements and regrets from her time in politics.
Scotland’s former first minister said she would “reveal the person behind the politics” in the book, which is due to be released in 2025.
Pan Macmillan has purchased the rights to the book, which it promised would be “deeply personal and revealing”.
Ms Sturgeon’s memoir will be released in hardback, eBook and audio formats.
She said: “I have loved my life in politics, but ever since I was a child I have harboured an ambition to write.
“I am thrilled to be working with Pan MacMillan, a globally-renowned publisher with proud Scottish roots.”
Ms Sturgeon said the prospect of writing the book was exciting and daunting.
It will cover an era in British and Scottish Politics which included the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the Brexit vote.
Ms Sturgeon added: “I aim to chronicle key events of the past three decades and take the reader behind the scenes to describe how it felt to be ‘in the room’, who else was there, the relationships involved and how decisions were arrived at.”
Image source, Getty Images
Ms Sturgeon has been described as a “lover of literature”
She took over as leader of the Scottish National Party after the 2014 referendum and remained in charge until February this year.
The memoir promises to reveal Ms Sturgeon’s rise from being a “shy child from a working-class family in Ayrshire to the steps of Bute House”.
Pan MacMillan is part of the MacMillan Publishers International group, which was founded in the 1800s by Scottish brothers, Daniel and Alexander MacMillan.
The publisher acquired the rights to the book in an auction among nine different publishers. It has not been revealed how much was paid.
Mike Harpley, Pan MacMillan’s non-fiction publishing director, said he was looking forward to working with Ms Sturgeon who he described as a “lover of literature”.
He said: “It is no surprise that the extracts she has already written are notable for their wit, honesty and excellent writing.”
Nicola Sturgeon has always been known for her love of books, so it is no shock that she is already penning one of her own.
And given her prominent position across a tumultuous decade in politics, it is little surprise that there was fierce competition between publishers for the rights.
That tumult means there may be plenty of competition atop the bestseller charts – Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are both reportedly set to follow Matt Hancock and a host of other recent leaders in putting their account down on paper.
And that underlines that there can be a political motive behind these books: Reputation management.
Ms Sturgeon’s exit from the political frontlines has come amid major questions over her independence strategy, and a police investigation of her party’s finances. Meanwhile her successor Humza Yousaf has pressed pause on some of her remaining policy pledges at Holyrood.
The former first minister will hope the dust has settled somewhat by the time her tome comes out in 2025.
But in any case she will be keen to put her side across in her own words – to use what platform she still has to set out her legacy.
