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Profile Books acquires Hinterlands by Pulitzer grantee Hannah Lucinda Smith
Profile Books has acquired Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers by Pulitzer grantee Hannah Lucinda Smith.
Publisher Rowan Cope acquired world all-language rights, including audio, from Kelly Falconer at Asia Literary Agency. Editorial director Nick Humphrey will co-edit the book, which will be published in 2026.
"In Hinterlands, Hannah Lucinda Smith journeys through the disputed territories on Europe’s fringes, exploring how the new global power struggle is playing out in unlikely places," the synopsis says. "Casting a first-person lens on Syria’s occupied border regions in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s fall, on the Caucasus, Cyprus, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, Smith maps how the historic collapse of the Ottoman and Soviet Empires continues to shape Europe’s security paradigm, and how the global ambitions of two strongmen, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are reigniting the embers of regional conflicts."
The synopsis adds: "Drawing on a wealth of sources, including interviews and encounters with politicians, diplomats, spies and the ordinary people who live along these contested borders, Smith gives deeper context to our geopolitical landscape."
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Smith is the author of Erdogan Rising: A Warning to Europe (William Collins) and co-writer of Zarifa: A Woman’s Battle in a Man’s World (Virago). Reporting for the Times and the Economist from Turkey, she has covered the Middle East and the Balkans for over 14 years. A consistent Pulitzer grantee, she has also contributed to the Atlantic, Monocle, Spectator, Wired, TLS, and has featured on BBC TV and radio. A sought-after speaker and consultant, she lives in Istanbul.
Smith said: "The places I report from in Hinterlands are often seen as quirky oddities or benign throwbacks, but what is happening there is directly linked to, and often driving, the wider global conflict. It’s an honour to be working with Profile to tell the stories of the people living in these turbulent places and examine how Europe’s power lines are shifting."
Cope added: "Hinterlands will shed an urgent light on contemporary imperial ambitions. Hannah has travelled and reported widely from these regions, and this book will resonate not only with readers of topical political analysis but also with those who relish a nuanced, first-person view of otherwise seldom seen places."
