Granta signs 'urgent and unflinching' Peru reportage by Zárate

Granta Books has picked up an “urgent and unflinching” collection of reportage from Peru on the stories of three environmental activists.

Publisher Sigrid Rausing, with editor Ka Bradley, signed world English language rights in the book, by Joseph Zárate, from Conxita Estruga at Penguin Random House Spain. Wars of the Interior will be published in spring 2021.

Divided into three sections – gold, wood and oil – it reveals how activists fight corrupt corporations driving deforestation and exploitations, exploring the devastating consequences they have on the lives of Peru’s indigenous tribes.

Published as Guerras Del Interior in Spain, the collection has won two journalism awards, the Ortega y Gasset Prize 2016 and the Gabriel García Márquez Prize 2018.

Bradley said: “Investigative journalism of this calibre, combining a rich and characterful narrative with formidable reportage, is a rare find, and we are thrilled to be bringing this important work to the list. Wars of the Interior expands our understanding of contemporary Peru, and, more broadly, our understanding of the human struggles behind the monolithic structures of industry. The writing reveals rigorous research, great compassion and a mind fine-tuned for detail and exactitude.  Joseph Zárate is a world-class journalist.”