Katie Baskerville explores gossip at HQ

HQ has signed Beyond Belief, an exploration of gossip by journalist Katie Baskerville. Senior commissioning editor Marleigh Price bought WEL rights from Abi Fellows, and the book will be out in hardback, ebook and audio on 12 March 2026.

The book: 'From group WhatsApp chats to click-bait headlines, social media snooping to reality television, there is nothing more devilishly delicious, scandalous, and satisfying than a juicy piece of gossip.

'All-too-often dismissed as the past-time of silly schoolgirls and bored housewives, there’s more to gossip than meets the eye. In today’s world of misinformation, where the voices and stories of women are being silenced, gossip has the power to shatter reputations and destroy credibility. Yet it can also be a vital political tool; a communication style that strengthens relationships and can even act a life-saving measure.

'Tracing gossip’s roots from old wives’ tales and the witch trials to reality TV, whisper networks and defamation lawsuits, Beyond Belief asks, have we lost the ability to listen; to hear, and to believe women who speak up and speak out?'

Price said: "The moment I read Katie’s proposal, I knew this was a book that I wanted to publish. We may be loath to admit it, but gossip is entwined into our daily lives. Beyond Belief is a delicious, scintillating, furious, feminist defence of gossip and the women who do it, and it couldn’t feel more urgent in the current climate."

Baskerville said: "My intention with this book is to address the glaring credibility-gap that women contend with in their everyday lives and validate the care systems they make in the absence of real-world support. Gossip is a vital part of women’s survival repertoire. It’s about time we stopped devaluing the intimacy and power gossip holds and start appreciating it for the formidable force that it is."