Pushkin Press acquires new novel from Mahesh Rao in exclusive submission

ONE, an imprint of Pushkin Press, has acquired Half Light, the new novel by Mahesh Rao.

Publishing director Laura Macaulay acquired British Commonwealth rights, excluding India, in an exclusive submission from Sarah Lutyens at Lutyens & Rubinstein. Macaulay has previously published Rao’s The Smoke is Rising (Daunt Books) and One Point Two Billion (Daunt Books) when she was publisher at Daunt Books.

Rao’s new book will be published as Pushkin Press’ fiction superlead title in September 2025.

"Half Light tells the story of an unlikely couple, Pavan and Neville, who have a brief affair while trapped by a landslide in the mountains of rural Darjeeling," the synopsis says. "The repercussions of this entanglement snakes through the lives of both men, as the novel follows them in the years leading up to India’s decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2018. This beautifully written, poignant, surprising and often extremely funny novel offers a compelling perspective on repression: sexual, political, legal and internalised."

Rao said: "I could not be more delighted to be joining the Pushkin ONE list and to be working again with Laura Macaulay, a brilliant publisher who saw my first two books into the world with so much care and enthusiasm. The response from Pushkin Press to this novel has been overwhelming and I feel very lucky to be working with such a sensitive and gifted team."

Macaulay added: "Half Light is an exquisitely formed novel about repression and freedom. It’s wise and tender, and often very funny. I’m honoured to be working with the exceptionally talented Mahesh Rao again."