Fairlight lands Campbell's 'pacy' psychological novel

Fairlight Books has acquired Joanna Campbell’s Instructions for the Working Day, a "pacy literary novel with psychological elements" set in a village in the former East Germany.

The publisher secured world rights from the author, and will publish the book in summer 2022.

Its synopsis reads: "Neil Fischer owns a village. Having inherited his father’s former hometown of Marschwald in East Germany, left to deteriorate since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Neil faces the task of deciphering his demanding father’s last wish and restoring the derelict village to its former glory. But when he travels to Marschwald with plans to renovate and revive it, he is met with hostility, mistrust and underlying menace.

"His only friend in Marschwald is Silke, who is coming to terms with her traumatic experiences during the Cold War and has recently uncovered a shocking truth, concealed from her for years by her controlling brother. As tensions rise, a series of surreal encounters force Neil to contend with his own troubled past – but in his present, all signs point to danger."

Campbell studied German at university and lived in West Germany as a student. She has worked as a teacher of both German and English, and now writes full-time. Her debut novel, Tying Down the Lion (Brick Lane Publishing) was published in 2015, and her short story collection When Planets Slip Their Tracks (Ink Tears) was longlisted for the Rubery Book Award and shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. She is a prolific short story and flash fiction writer, with pieces published in many anthologies and literary magazines, and has won several awards including the London Short Story Prize and the Exeter Writers competition.

She said: "I was inspired by reading an article about a decaying East German village that was put up for sale a few years ago, as I wondered how it would feel to have always lived there and watch an outsider breeze in and make changes. I’m so excited that my novel has found a home with Fairlight Books and that I’m able to share this part of history with a wider audience."