Fairlight Moderns grows with two more for 2022

Fairlight Books is expanding its Fairlight Moderns collection with two new titles publishing in spring 2022.

The collection of pocket-sized contemporary short fiction books are set in locations around the world, with titles including Sophie van Llewyn’s Bottled Goods, longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019, and Travelling in the Dark by Emma Timpany, winner of the Hall & Woodhouse DLF Writing Prize 2019.

The 2022 line-up will add Switzerland and Cyprus to the map, featuring cover illustrations from Sam Kalda.

The first new title, A Good Year by Polis Loizou, is billed as a "gripping folk-horror tale set in 1920s rural Cyprus". The synopsis reads: "The 12 days of Christmas are beginning – the time when, according to local folklore, creatures known as kalikantzari come up from Hell to wreak havoc. Despo is heavily pregnant and deeply afraid. Meanwhile, her husband Loukas finds himself irresistibly drawn to an Englishman, a newcomer to the island."

The second, Voting Day by Clare O’Dea, is set in February 1959 when the men in Switzerland voted against a referendum on women’s suffrage. O’Dea explores that moment in history through the eyes of four Swiss women, whose paths intersect on a day that will leave its mark on all their lives. O'Dea previously crowdfunded a self-published Swiss edition of the book. 

Louise Boland, publisher, said: "Both titles were a perfect fit for our Fairlight Moderns list with their strong sense of place and focus on an interesting cultural moment. Both Polis and Clare have been delightful to work with and we now can’t wait for readers to pick up these extraordinary stories."

A Good Year and Voting Day will be published on 1st April 2022.