Campaign Spotlight: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

By Leah Murphy, Emily Lavin, Georgia Rees, Chante-Marie Dante and Annamária Rátki

Intermezzo is the fourth book by best-selling Irish novelist and screenwriter Sally Rooney, published on 24 September by Faber and Faber. The story follows brothers Peter and Ivan in a period of mourning and change after their father’s passing. Peter is a lawyer in his thirties, torn between relationships with two women. Sylvia is his first love with whom he has a strong bond and Naomi is a broke college student who depends on him. Ivan is twenty-two years old and a competitive chess player. A loner and a bit socially awkward, he is the antithesis of his brother. But soon after his father’s passing, he meets Margaret, an older woman with her own shadowy history, and their lives quickly become intertwined. 

Faber describes the book as “[a]n exquisitely moving story about grief, love and family”. The story is written in smooth prose that flows off the pages and jumps between the perspectives of multiple characters. It was warmly welcomed by readers and reviewers alike. Upon publication, Intermezzo knocked down Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders from the number one position on the bestseller list and maintained a secure spot in the top three. It was one of the most anticipated books of the year and Faber prepared one hell of a campaign to launch it. 

Social media 

With the author’s extremely limited online presence (she previously posted on X but stepped away after the success of Normal People), the Faber social media accounts made sure to keep readers updated. 

X was ablaze on 22 May when Faber posted the arrival of proof copies at their office, modelled by some very excited staff members. Other book accounts also teased the arrival of their copies, including the influencer @jack_edwards. One account, @hopeisreading, celebrated their lunchtime delivery marked with strict instructions to be opened at 11:00 a.m. on 22 May, saying they would be “tucking into Intermezzo immediately.” 

On the same day, Faber treated us to a short video depicting a blue and white chess board scattered with fallen chess pieces, leading to the much-anticipated cover reveal. This video was circulated by many high-profile and book-related accounts, including Waterstones. They also used the video to announce an exclusive edition with chequered endpapers and a bonus short story. 

Faber kept the public intrigued until publication day by showcasing soon to be available merch (can you ever have too many tote bags?), as well as a list of all the bookshops opening early on publication day. 

If you weren’t aware of the novel before it was published on 24 September, the uninterrupted wave of blue and white dominating your X feed would have certainly caught you up. From photos of excited early bird readers queuing outside bookshops to readers online already reviewing the novel, everybody was celebrating the highly anticipated release. 

Bookshops 

As part of their “biggest trade campaign ever” (The Bookseller), Faber paired up with over forty independent bookshops and Waterstones across the UK and Ireland for early opening to offer eager fans the chance to bag their copies of Intermezzo as quickly as possible. All bookstores taking part received a delivery of exclusive merchandise to hand out to those braving the early morning. This included a branded tote bag, bookmark, exclusive stickers and a customisable dust jacket. Faber also partnered with five artists who reimagined the original cover, drawn by Kishan Rajani, who was on hand at select bookstores to illustrate the exclusive dust jackets.

One of these stores was Waterstones Gower Street, where Maria-Ines Gul was the artist in residence for the morning, offering unique illustrations for those who queued early. Gower Street, along with many other Waterstones stores, went big for Intermezzo, with a huge table stacked high with copies in front of the store, making the striking blue cover unmissable. Stores such as Bath, Leeds and Cardiff dedicated large windows to Intermezzo, making use of the chess and dog-themed point of sale materials sent by Faber and being sure to include Rooney’s backlist. Both Brighton and Nottingham posted reels to their Instagram accounts showing booksellers preparing the shops and installing windows early on Tuesday morning and both made sure to film the queues that were already gathering outside.  

For independent bookshops, a large publication, such as the new Rooney book, can be a real boon for business and many took the opportunity to go big here. In London, BookBar also decided to open early, revealing both front windows stacked high with Intermezzo at 8:00 a.m. They were selling the signed Indie exclusive edition here and also had ninety exclusive Intermezzo t-shirts to give away to the early birds, alongside the tote bags and other merchandise.

Events 

To celebrate the release of Intermezzo, Rooney kicked off her literary events in Dublin, appearing at the National Concert Hall in conversation with columnist Fintan O'Toole on 21 September. She also appeared at Waterstones Piccadilly on the eve of publication day, where she read an extract from the novel before signing copies. At the event, she was joined by illustrator Jess Nash, who designed bespoke dust jackets for a number of ticket holders, creating a personalised, unique keepsake for readers. Rooney also appeared in conversation with author Merve Emre at Southbank Centre on 26 September. Fans were treated to a rich discussion of Rooney’s thoughts on language theory and what to expect from Intermezzo, as well as a dive into its key theme of sibling dynamics. 

Alongside Rooney’s events, the Faber marketing team made sure Intermezzo’s release day was an event in itself. Bookshops across the UK and Ireland opened early on 24 September so readers could grab their copy as soon as possible, treating the earliest purchasers to exclusive free merchandise provided by Faber, including a tote bag, pins, stickers and a customisable dust jacket. The Faber team even organised for artists to be on-hand at bookshops to illustrate dust jackets for the novel, including at Brighton independent bookshop City Books.

It is fair to say that the Faber team have succeeded in making Intermezzo the book of the moment through their marketing campaign and have delivered in creating a truly memorable release for both long-time fans and new readers of Rooney’s work.