We are really excited to announce we will publish a new book by Nick Wallis - Depp v Heard: the unreal story - in Spring 2023.
As many will know, in 2020 Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp sued The Sun newspaper at the High Court in London for calling him a wife-beater. His ex-wife, Amber Heard was the star witness. Depp lost. In April this year, Depp sued Heard directly in the US for claiming she was a victim of domestic violence. This time, the world was watching. This time, with both the jury and the court of public opinion, Depp won, resoundingly. Which raises a fundamental question: after two exhaustive trials, how did the outcomes differ so widely? And which verdict, if any, contains the truth?
Nick Wallis was the only journalist on the ground at both the the UK and the US trials so no one is better placed to try and make sense of this story. In London he provided blow-by-blow accounts from inside the court, securing and publishing daily transcripts of proceedings. In doing so he connected with millions of people who followed his reporting on social media. Nick was the first to tell the world that Depp had lost against The Sun and that he’d failed in his application to appeal. Nick then crowdfunded his way to Virginia for the second trial, embedding himself as an independent reporter, witnessing all the evidence whilst engaging with the media throng and the fans. As coverage of the trial snowballed, turning Depp v Heard into the first ’Trial by TikTok', Nick witnessed the effect it had on everyone involved inside and outside the courtroom.
The book seeks to tell the definitive story of the saga, one that transfixed millions of people. In the engaging, page-turning style of his first book - The Great Post Office Scandal - Nick sets up the legal drama, weaves his own reportage through the story and analyses of the evidence to uncover the real truth behind Depp v Heard.
We are of course delighted to work with Nick on another book tackling an explosive subject that has become embedded in the public consciousness.
Full details of price and formats will be released later this Autumn - email hannah-louise.shergold@bathpublishing.co.uk and she will make sure you know as soon as things have been confirmed.
Any immediate trade or rights enquiries should be directed to David Chaplin - david.chaplin@bathpublishing.co.uk.
picture credit: Loren Javier CC Licence
