Sofie Hagen lands deal for her book about involuntary celibacy

Will I Ever Have Sex Again? to be released next year

Sofie Hagen’s book about being involuntarily celibate is to be published in May, after four publishers battled for the rights.

The comic – who says she has not had sex for more than 3,000 days – revealed she was writing the book earlier this year, as she sought other people willing to share their experiences.

Now Blink Publishing, which won the auction to release the book, has revealed that the title will be called Will I Ever Have Sex Again? and has opened up pre-orders.

Hagen told trade website The Bookseller: ‘I wrote this book because I went looking for it, and it didn’t exist.

‘I am a fat, socially awkward, neurodiverse, non-binary, pansexual person who has never slept with a woman. I have been in "situationships" with shitty men and now I am in my mid-30s and I find myself being involuntarily celibate.

‘ I guess I am a progressive, feminist, queer incel, but without all the murder and "blaming women’" I wanted to tell my story because I thought I was all alone with my experiences – until I did an Instagram post and 1,800 people wrote to me within the first 24 hours it was up, and shared their stories, which were both incredibly diverse and yet similar.’

The book features an endorsement from fellow comic Sara Pascoe who said: ‘'I'm hungry to go on this journey. Sofie is smashing and remoulding her readers understanding of sex, gender and body politics by deeply penetrating where others just stroke the surface.’

Blink’s blurb for the book reads: ‘In attempting to find out why we're not having the sex we want, Sofie asks the questions: can we blame a lacking sex education? Is it all just sexual trauma? Where's the radical sexual liberation we were promised? What are we going to do about this? Should she have slept with that guy in that bush that one time? How do you overcome being a 35 year-old virgin (when it comes to queer sex, that is)? How do the socially awkward and the neurodiverse have sex?’

The company previously published Lou Sanders’s memoirs What’s That Lady Doing?, which reflected on notions of shame (review)

Hagen has also announced a book and stand-up tour to promote the new title. Sofie Hagen tour dates >>

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Published: 30 Nov 2023