We’re excited to announce our final acquisition of the year, A Name in History, a book everybody needs to read. Hillery Baptiste’s debut is a ground-breaking historical fiction inspired by actual events. We should not erase and rewrite history. Instead, we should learn from our past, not run from it.
Hillery is based in London and is from the shoe-making mecca of Northampton. She has fond memories of exciting childhood summers spent visiting relatives across the capital: soaking up the loud atmosphere, sampling pepper-laced meals and listening to the comforting harmonies of ‘home’ accents.
Baptiste worked in the creative industry and fulfilled a long-held dream of honing her writing skills by completing a master’s degree in creative writing. A Name in History was planned during her studies and centres on one woman’s efforts to seek the truth behind a closely guarded family secret linked to an unfamiliar name in their past. Touching on secrets hiding in plain sight, the story creates a memorably emotional vista of history that, seamlessly and disturbingly, continues to shape our collective futures.
Hillery Baptiste said in a statement: “I hope the story will resonate with everyone, but particularly with those denied their anchors when names, and the very essence of humans, were removed to enable twisted inhumane expediency and greed. I’m hugely grateful to Arrow Gate for seeing something in my musings worthy of publishing. I look forward to reaching everyone curious to learn about our connective pasts.”
A Name in History is out in the summer of 2023.
Arrow Gate Publishing 