Refuse To Be Scared is Heywood Hill’s latest global book subscription, with titles chosen by world reknowned journalists. Created in association with Truth Tellers, the subscription features twelve inspirational books, each selected by a speaker at the 2026 Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit.

The title of the subscription is drawn from a remark made by Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic:

“The only way to operate in this environment is to refuse to be scared.”

At a time of information overload, misinformation and algorithm-driven content, Refuse To Be Scared is designed to sustain independent thought through the old-fashioned power of well-chosen books.

The Refuse To Be Scared subscription will include:

• A Refuse To Be Scared reading list with choices contributed by globally recognised figures including Patrick Radden Keefe, Christiane Amanpour, Anne Applebaum, Kara Swisher, Emily Maitlis, Mishal Husain, Katharine Viner, Emma Tucker, Walter Isaacson, Michael Gove, and Tina Brown.
• Twelve books, weighted towards non-fiction, selected from the reading list, in six parcels across the year (two books per delivery)
• Each pair of books gift-wrapped in Heywood Hill’s brown paper and blue ribbon
• A beautifully designed welcome letter and gift card (print or digital)
• Exclusive bookplates and bookmarks by Cressida Bell
• Archival stories and literary anecdotes from Heywood Hill’s 90-year history

You or your lucky recipient will receive a welcome pack from us to introduce Refuse To Be Scared, explaining what to expect from the subscription. This pack includes an elegant gift card and letter detailing the subscription. We can also include a hand-written personal message on one of our illustrated postcards. Do pop a message for your recipient in the notes at checkout to include this in the welcome pack. 

• Please note that postage is not included in the cost of the subscription and it will be added at checkout. We send all of our subscription parcels every other month to minimise postage costs for our customers.
• If your recipient lives in Canada or Switzerland please get in touch with our team at enquiries@heywoodhill.com for a specific postage cost.
• For any questions, do check out our FAQs on the subscriptions page or get in touch with us at enquiries@heywoodhill.com.