Scribner scoops Ismaïl's 'exceptional' debut

Simon & Schuster literary imprint Scribner has acquired Hyper, the debut novel by Kurdish writer Agri Ismaïl.

Editor Kaiya Shang acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown on behalf of Erik Larsson at Albatros Agency. Swedish rights have been acquired by Johanna Haegerström at Albert Bonniers Förlag.

Hyper is the story of a family fractured by migration, set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. When Rafiq Kermanj’s communist activism forces his family to flee Tehran for London, his wife and children suffer the shame of penury and migration layered on Kurdish statelessness. 

"Ismaïl traces the lives of the three children and their increasingly desperate relationships to money," the synopsis explains. "Siver escapes into an unhappy marriage in Baghdad before fleeing to raise her daughter as a single mother in Dubai. Mohammed stays in London to climb the unforgiving ladder of the financial sector. Laika retreats into a contactless digital life, designing the trading algorithms that will ultimately prove his downfall in a condo near Wall Street. Inspired by his family’s experience, Ismaïl uses the unsettled nature of the Kurdish diaspora to capture the dislocations of life under capitalism."

Shang said: "In the spirit of Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire (Bloomsbury) and told using the ’systems novel’ approach of early Don DeLillo, Hyper is an exceptional debut that will make readers feel deeply and think critically about the world we live in. Ismaïl’s writing is extremely accomplished, both formally and narratively dextrous, and I was very impressed by how he evokes the distance between the siblings by writing each of their stories in a different register. Karolina Sutton is one of the people I admire most in this industry, so it is hugely exciting to be working with her, and to be publishing such a unique and important voice on the Scribner list."

Ismaïl is a Kurdish writer based in Sweden. His work has been published in the White Review, the Rumpus, Asymptote, and the Lifted Brow, among others, and was longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize.

"I am absolutely delighted that Hyper has found its home at Scribner and am especially thrilled to be working with Kaiya Shang whose enthusiasm and keen eye regarding the novel’s themes and structure have been illuminating," Ismaïl said. "It’s a dream come true to have Kaiya and the entire team at Scribner bring Hyper into the hands of readers."

Hyper will be published in hardback, e-book and audio in spring 2024.