Manilla Press snares Lefteri’s ‘dazzling’ new novel The Book of Fire

Bonnier Books UK’s literary imprint Manilla Press has acquired The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Zaffre) and Songbirds (Manilla Press).

The title was acquired by Margaret Stead, publisher at Zaffre and Manilla Press, from Marianne Gunn O’Connor of MOGC. The Book of Fire will be published on 17th August in hardback, e-book and audio.

Lefteri’s “dazzling” new novel centres on a family struggling to recover from trauma, set against the backdrop of the forest fires of Greece. Described as “intimate and epic, sweeping and delicate”, the novel explores “not only the damage wrought by human folly, but also – and ultimately – our powers of redemption and renewal".

The author, whose novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo won The Aspen Literary Prize, was runner up for The Dayton Literary Prize and won the Prix de l’Union Interalliée for Best Foreign novel in France, said: “This is a story that is so close to my heart, a tale that I felt I needed to write.”

Stead added: “The Book of Fire is urgent, beautiful, delicate and redemptive. Christy’s novels are always about people, how we can recover from trauma and come to see the world in a new way. It’s ultimately a hopeful novel and one I know her huge number of readers will adore.”