Press Release: Deals Done
Heinemann Acquires The Revolution Will Be Digitised By Heather Brooke
Posted at 10:06AM Wednesday 28 Jul 2010
Drummond Moir of William Heinemann has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in The Revolution will be Digitised by Heather Brooke. It was sold by Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown. The Revolution will be Digitised will look behind the scenes of websites such as Wikileaks to explore the brave new world of computer hackers, Internet whistleblowers and pro-democracy campaigners. Brooke will argue that we're at 'an extraordinary moment in human history', as 'never before has the possibility of true democracy been so close to realisation.' The New Information Enlightenment is on our doorstep – but are we ready to open the door? "People like to say the internet is a place of free speech – nothing could be further from the truth." ~Julian Assange~ Founder and Editor, Wikileaks In 2008, American households received 3.6 zetabytes of information (that's 34 gigabytes per person per day) and whereas in the past most information was consumed passively, with the exception of the telephone, now half of all data is received interactively. The interactive web allows previously powerless people to band together and talk back to power rather than just listening passively. The successful leader is now one adept at sharing, not suppressing information. But we should not ignore the very powerful backlash that is challenging the data frontier just as it is opening up. Heather Brooke's new book will take us into the heart of the battle, showing us the visionaries at the vanguard of a new age and the establishment fighting to retain the status quo. What happens in the next five years will define the future of democracy for the next century and beyond. This is nothing less than a revolution and all revolutions create fear and uncertainty as one age makes way for another. The Revolution will be Digitised will be the definitive narrative about the New Information Enlightenment, a movement in which technology is breaking down traditional social barriers of status, class, power, wealth and geography. Drummond Moir, Editor, said: 'This will be a groundbreaking investigation into how the internet is transforming politics, by an absolutely iconic journalist who knows better than anyone what it means to shake up the establishment. And given the mounting interest in organisations like Wikileaks, it's going to be essential reading.' Heather Brooke said: 'It was clear to me from my own reporting and campaigning around freedom of information that society is undergoing a radical transformation: The amount of knowledge in the world is now so vast and technology so adept at zero-cost duplication that no government, company or organisation can hope to keep control. When I met Julian Assange of Wikileaks he was still a little-known figure but his stories of battles fought to free information and ambitions to free even more in future spurred me to begin writing this book. Today's release of more than 70,000 communications related to the Afghan war is one of the biggest leaks in US history and it shows the full extent of how power is shifting in our new digitised age.' Heather Brooke is a freelance journalist and campaigner who used the Freedom of Information Act to expose MPs expenses. Five years of campaigning and a landmark High Court case resulted in the judge granting her the right to see the details of MPs' secret spending. Brooke writes for a variety of publications, such as The Times and The Guardian. She has presented Channel 4's Dispatches and worked on a number of documentaries on security and freedom of information. She is a popular pundit and has appeared on both radio and television. Heather is a visiting Professor of Journalism at City University and is also the author of Your Right to Know (2006, Pluto Press) and The Silent State (2010, William Heinemann). To be published in hardback by William Heinemann in 2012 and as a Windmill paperback. For further information please contact Emma Finnigan, Publicity Director, on efinnigan@randomhouse.co.uk / 020 7840 8773
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