Pansy signs Layla McCay's debut

Pansy, the queer publishing house founded by Matt Cain and Harry Glasstone, has signed Layla McCay’s debut. UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) were acquired by Cain and Glasstone from Abi Fellows at DHH Literary Agency. A Diplomat’s Guide to Book Smuggling will be published as a lead title on 24th June 2027.

US rights have already been sold to Sourcebooks for publication in 2027.

A Diplomat’s Guide to Book Smuggling is set in 1974 and follows Jane Beaumont, a bookseller who strikes up a friendship with a secretly gay diplomat and learns his career is hindered by his bachelor status, so decides to marry him. After the marriage, Jane finds a novel about two women in love hidden in the shelves of their Washington DC residence and tracks down Frances, the former diplomat’s wife who left it there.

The synopsis continues: “The two begin a correspondence, the need arises for a one-of-a-kind book service and Jane finds herself scouring bookshops for queer fiction to smuggle to Frances and other closeted diplomats around the world, avoiding the censorship of the customs and postal services by using the special ‘diplomatic bag’.

“But when she begins to attract unwanted attention that puts her husband’s job, her marriage and her budding romance at stake, she begins to wonder: how long can she maintain this fantasy before it all comes crashing down?”

McCay said: “I’m delighted that A Diplomat’s Guide to Book Smuggling is being published by Pansy. My heroine Jane spends the novel secretly getting queer books to the readers who love them; Pansy does the same thing, just without the secrecy, and to far more readers. It’s the perfect home for her story.

Glasstone said: “From the very first page, we were utterly enchanted by A Diplomat’s Guide to Book Smuggling. It’s cosy, charming and delightfully quirky but also stirring, with real political bite. And it couldn’t be a better fit for Pansy as its central theme is the power of queer novels to offer emotional support, make the reader feel less alone and even save lives.

“At a time when queer books are being banned from libraries around the world and Pride displays removed from libraries here in the UK, we think this message is particularly powerful. We’re very proud to be publishing this very special book.”