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Novelist Allison Pearson has signed a deal with St. Martin’s Press for a sequel to her 2002 bestseller, I Don’t Know How She Does It. Pearson announced the news on Twitter this morning.

Executive editor Hope Dellon negotiated the deal with UK literary agent Caroline Michel of Peters Fraser & Dunlop. Dellon secured North American rights to this manuscript. The publication date has been scheduled for Fall 2016.

Here’s more from the press release: “The as-yet-untitled new novel once again features Pearson’s beloved heroine Kate Reddy. Now on the cusp of turning 50, Kate returns to the workforce after a career break. Her husband Richard has decided to change careers which means that Kate, like so many women, is now the breadwinner. As Kate rides the rollercoaster of the menopause, she clashes with her furiously hormonal teenagers and must also tend to her ageing parents who make increasing demands on her non-existent time.”

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT by Allison Pearson

Publisher: Anchor Books, 368 pages

Publication Date: August 9, 2011

Summary: Delightfully smart and heartbreakingly poignant, Allison Pearson’s smash debut novel has exploded onto bestseller lists as “The national anthem for working mothers.” Hedge-fund manager, wife, and mother of two, Kate Reddy manages to juggle nine currencies in five time zones and keep in step with the Teletubbies. But when she finds herself awake at 1:37 a.m. in a panic over the need to produce a homemade pie for her daughter’s school, she has to admit her life has become unrecognizable. With panache, wisdom, and uproarious wit, I Don’t Know How She Does It brilliantly dramatizes the dilemma of every working mom.

Review: Ah, the age old question, Can you really have it all? And at what cost? Women are constantly being told that they can do it all, career success, financial success and still raise a happy family and be the perfect homemaker. You can’t help but wonder if we are setting ourselves up for failure, or at least a nervous breakdown. Are we trying to do TOO much? Kate Reddy is facing just this dilemma. She’s a working mom struggling for balance amidst a world that is moving far too quickly to even attempt “keeping up.”  The book looks at a woman’s life from every angle. The career woman trying to raise healthy, happy, confident children, maintain a loving marriage and build a successful career while fighting the powers that try to thwart her at every attempt. We also see the stay-at-home moms who feel they have put too much into raising a family and lost sight of themselves as individuals, as women with dreams and goals. With humorous and honest storytelling, Pearson has created a truly enjoyable novel that offers an unfiltered glimpse into the lives of women and the effects of modern motherhood.