Faber to publish Lyra McKee anthology to mark anniversary of her death

Faber will publish an anthology of journalist’s Lyra McKee’s work to mark the anniversary of her death.

Lyra McKee: Lost, Found, Remembered will be published on 2nd April 2020, just under a year after the 29-year-old journalist was fatally shot on 18th April 2019 while reporting on rioting in Derry's Creggan estate.

According to the synopsis: “The anthology will weave together pieces that defined her reputation as one of the most important and formidable journalists of her generation. It showcases the range of McKee’s voice by bringing together unpublished material alongside both her celebrated and lesser-known pieces. It reveals the sheer scope of McKee’s intellectual and radically humane engagement with the world – and lets her spirit live on in her own words.”

Faber publishing director Louisa Joyner said: “It is hard to comprehend that Lyra McKee was murdered less than five months ago. Since her death we have worked with those Lyra loved to determine how best to commemorate her writing and magnify her voice. Lyra sought truth as a journalist not simply by asking difficult questions, but perhaps more crucially by listening rigorously – and open-heartedly – to the answers.

“Her work speaks to her subtlety of expression and her intellectual and political courage. This collection is our testament to Lyra, a celebration of her talent, and a reminder of what we have lost.”

In 2018, Faber’s editorial director Laura Hassan struck a two-book deal with McKee. Hassan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Will Francis at Janklow and Nesbit after a four-way auction.

At the time of her death, McKee was working on her first book The Lost Boys which was due for publication 2020, and would investigate disappearances of children and young men during The Troubles. Following her death Faber said it is reviewing the unfinished work with McKee’s friends and family.

McKee’s investigation into the 1981 murder of Ulster Unionist MP Rev Robert Bradford, Angels With Blue Faces, was published posthumously by Excalibur Press in June, according to The Irish Times. McKee's piece about growing up gay in Belfast, "Letter To My 14 Year-Old Self", went viral in 2014 and was later adapted into a short film.

Belfast-born McKee won Sky News’ Young Journalists Award in 2006 and became an investigative reporter, writing for numerous newspapers, magazines and websites. She was featured as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 and a rising literary star by the Irish Times.

Nine people have been arrested in connection to McKee’s murder and the New IRA has taken responsibility for the killing, according to www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cjyw1936ppxt/lyra-mckee&link_location=live-reporting-story">BBC News.