Oneworld wins three-way auction for Anappara’s ‘hauntingly atmospheric’ second novel 

Oneworld has acquired The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara, whose debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line (Chatto & Windus), was longlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize.

Fiction publisher Juliet Mabey acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada and Indian subcontinent from Matthew Turner at RCW in a three-way auction. Oneworld plans to publish in hardback as a lead title in March 2025. North American and Indian rights are with Random House and PRH India respectively.

The Last of Earth is described as an “elegant, deeply poignant” historical novel set in mid-19th century Tibet. Three travellers, one Indian, two British, venture into a kingdom then forbidden to outsiders. All have their own hidden motivations for undertaking these perilous, clandestine journeys – secrets they are running away from, and missing friends they hope to rescue. Each will need help from a mysterious stranger as they attempt to navigate this treacherous land.

Mabey said: “I fell for Deepa’s novel from the outset. In rich, intimate prose she conjures an irresistible sense of place in this powerfully atmospheric story about autonomy, friendship and greed, and succeeds in marrying extensive research with phenomenal imagination. I’m delighted to be working with such a bold and unique storyteller.”

Anappara added: “I have admired Oneworld and Juliet Mabey’s incredible work as an editor and publisher for a long time, and I am thrilled my novel has found a home at Oneworld.”

Originally from Kerala, Anappara is a former journalist whose reporting on poverty, religious violence and education won multiple awards. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line has been translated into 23 languages. She is the co-editor of the essay collection Letters to a Writer of Colour, and is currently a lecturer in creative writing at City, University of London.