Allen & Unwin acquires Wills’s “Dopamining”

Allen and Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Dopamining by Samantha Wills, via Samuel Bernard at Zeitgeist Agency.

Part memoir and part cultural commentary, Dopamining examines “how we became trapped in cycles of anticipation that keep us constantly stimulated yet rarely fulfilled”, says the publisher.

“Introducing a powerful new term with the potential to enter the cultural lexicon alongside ‘doomscrolling’, Dopamining captures a universal modern behaviour: the compulsive search for relief, meaning, validation, or escape through scrolling, shopping, bingeing, hustling, refreshing, and consuming – not from necessity, but from the hope that the next thing might finally make us feel something.”

Wills is the author of the memoir Of Gold and Dust: A Memoir of a Creative Life (A&U) and the Marigold children’s book series (Brio).

Publisher Emma Nolan said, “Dopamining captures the emotional pulse of modern life with remarkable clarity and vulnerability. Samantha speaks to anyone who is trapped between the thrill of the chase and the quiet exhaustion of wondering why this race has no finish line.”

A&U plans to publish Dopamining early in 2027.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions