What A Girl Wants: A (True) Story Of Sexuality And Self-Discovery is a coming-of-age memoir “packed with frank discussion, empathy and humour”
BY DIVA STAFF
Hey DIVAs, we have some very exciting news for you this Lesbian Visibility Week. Our very own editor-in-chief, Roxy Bourdillon, has just had her debut book announced in The Bookseller.
Roxy’s coming-of-age memoir, What A Girl Wants: A (True) Story Of Sexuality And Self-Discovery, has been snapped up by Bluebird and is scheduled for publication on 17 April 2025.
Jodie Lancet-Grant, associate publisher at Bluebird, acquired world rights from Laura MacDougall at United Agents. Alongside Roxy, Laura represents many of our favourite trailblazing queer authors including Joelle Taylor, CN Lester and Sophie Ward.
Roxy’s debut is described by Bluebird as “a warm, witty, inclusive and nostalgia-drenched memoir which weaves Roxy’s personal story together with pressing feminist themes.” What A Girl Wants “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 memoir is described as “perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love and Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman, but with a glorious queer twist”. The publisher elaborated, “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.”
Jodie said: “I have long admired Roxy’s brilliant writing, and I’m thrilled to be publishing her at Bluebird. She has a rare ability to lull the reader into an almost false sense of security through how funny and warm her stories are, then skewer you with her knife-sharp observations about life. I know her take on everything from body image to porn and dating to diets will speak to an entire generation of women.”
In addition to being the editor-of-chief of DIVA, the award-winning Roxy has written for numerous other outlets including Cosmopolitan, the Guardian and Attitude. Her groundbreaking work and writing has earned her a place on both the Pride Power List and The Attitude 101: LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Changing The World.
On the subject of her upcoming memoir, Roxy said: “Working at DIVA magazine has shown me just how powerful it is when we share our stories, so this is mine. I wanted to write with honesty, heart and humour about the reality of growing up as a woman, who happens to really, really love women, in a world that can sometimes make you feel terrible about both those things. I hope this book makes readers of all identities laugh, cry, think and – importantly – feel good about who they are.”
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