Peirene Press signs Mesa's 'explosive' novel for first-time UK publication

Peirene Press has signed Sara Mesa’s "explosive, claustrophobic" novel Un Amor which will mark the first time Mesa will be published in the UK. 

Stella Sabin, co-publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Open Letter Books. Originally published in Spain in 2020, Un Amor will be published by Peirene Press in June 2024. 

Un Amor was selected as one the "The Best Books of 2020" by El País, La Vanguardia, El Cultural and El Correo and has been adapted for film with director Isabel Coixet. 

Sabin said: "We are so proud to be bringing Sara Mesa to UK readers for the first time with Un Amor. Unflinching and intimate, Mesa’s work is concerned with the dynamics of power and subversion and the complexity of human relationships. The questions that she poses in Un Amor are thrillingly uncomfortable: she tests the tenuous limits of her characters’ morality and reveals the ambiguity of their social positions. It’s all just so deliciously tense and controlled!"

Mesa added: "I’m very excited about Un Amor being published in the UK, and looking forward to the reaction of the readers, which has been amazing in other languages."