HarperCollins Publishers has announced today plans to publish FACE IT, a memoir from Blondie front woman and cultural icon, Debbie Harry. HarperNonFiction will publish alongside Dey Street Books, HarperCollins in the US, on the 1st October.
FACE IT is an arresting mix of visceral storytelling and stunning visuals that reflects the complexity of its subject. In her distinctive voice, Debbie Harry recreates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where she, with Blondie, played alongside everyone from The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. With all the grit, grime and glory recounted in intimate detail, FACE IT takes readers from the New York underground to global superstardom and the creation of some of the most beloved pop songs of all-time.
FACE IT offers a full and robust portrait of a cultural trailblazer who has spent decades pushing creative boundaries in a variety of media. From her collaborations with artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Marina Abramovic, and H.R. Giger, to her extensive acting career in over thirty films, Debbie Harry has constantly sought to elevate and deliver counter-culture to the masses. In conjunction with her artistic work, Debbie has also been a tireless activist on behalf of environmental causes and the LGBTQ community, giving voice to some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Debbie Harry is undeniably an icon as well as an iconoclast, and in FACE IT, she shares the breadth of her fascinating life and career, with never-before seen personal images, brilliantly curated fan-art, and memories from the highs and lows of her life as a pioneering feminist, and muse to generations of fans and artists.
Dey Street Books VP, Editorial Director Carrie Thornton negotiated the deal with 10th Street Entertainment. Ed Faulkner and Zoe Berville will oversee the UK publication. FACE IT is written in collaboration with critically acclaimed journalist and author, Sylvie Simmons, based on a series of recent exclusive personal interviews, and also includes original essays by Debbie Harry.
Debbie Harry says: “I didn't want to, but I did. There are many more stories for me to tell; some funny, some scary, some warm, some chill to the bone and if FACE IT appeals to people then I will get to telling more of the anecdotal bits of the story of Blondie-like the time I met Rita Hayworth and Penny Singleton backstage at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. This book is biographical and covers a lot of years. I know there will be questions asked because in putting this together, I realized I have led a very full life and couldn't possibly cover everything in just one volume. I'm prepared for the best and the worst comments, much like when I have released an album or done a big show. I don't have a thick skin, but I do have a pretty good sense of humor.”
Ed Faulkner says: “It is the most immense privilege to be publishing Debbie Harry’s extraordinary memoir at HarperNonFiction. Hers is the voice of a generation, with resonance as powerful now as it was forty years ago, and FACE IT is the honest, powerful story of a true icon.”
Carrie Thornton says: “It has been one of the greatest thrills of my career to edit Debbie Harry, an artist who is so multi-dimensional, fascinating and supremely talented. FACE IT is the rare memoir that gets at the qualities of its subject in the most visceral and honest way, while being compelling, exciting and gorgeous at the same time.”
