'Gripping' love story set on Turkish/Syrian border to Daunt Books

Daunt Books Publishing has acquired Elliot Ackerman’s "timely" new novel Dark at the Crossing – a "gripping" contemporary love story set on the Turkish/Syrian border.

Co-publisher Karen Maine bought British Commonwealth rights from Cullen Stanley at Janklow & Nesbit. Knopf will publish the novel in the US in January.

Maine said: “Elliot’s second novel is thrilling in its pacing and breathtakingly profound in its realistic depiction of a region that serves as a holding place for both those fleeing Syria and those daring enough to enter it. Like his previous novel, Elliot shines a light on a place Western eyes rarely see, and he does so with a brilliant balance of rawness and empathy.”

Decorated veteran Ackerman has served five tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. He lived for many years in Turkey, where he covered the Syrian Civil War. His essays and fiction have appeared in many publications including the New Yorker and the New York Times.

Daunt Books will publish Dark at the Crossing in April 2017. It published Ackerman’s debut novel Green on Blue earlier this year.