Tramp Press bags 'stunning' Bourke debut

Tramp Press has bagged the “stunning” debut novel from Irish writer Niall Bourke.

Co-publisher Sarah Davis-Goff acquired Irish and UK rights for Line from Brian Langan at Storyline Literary Agency. The experimental speculative fiction book will be published in spring 2021.

“Line is the story of Willard who, along with his mother and his girlfriend Nyla, spend their days in a seemingly endless line,” its synopsis explains. “Survival is dictated by the ultimate imperative: obey the rules, or you will lose your place. Everything changes the day Willard’s mother dies and he learns an uncomfortable truth about the world he thought he knew.”

Bourke’s short stories have been nominated for prizes including the Costa Short Story Award, the Hennessey New Irish Writing Award and the Over the Edge New Writer Award. 

He said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure and privilege to work on Line with Brian, my agent, since signing with him in January – and for it now to be published by Tramp Press is beyond a dream come true. I’ve been a huge admirer of the press over recent years, and have seen not only how much they get behind all their authors but also how they work with them to produce consistently outstanding books. I simply could not imagine a better home for Line.”

Davis-Goff added: “We’re extremely excited to be publishing such an original work. We’ve established a strong track record of publishing novels and particularly debuts very well, and while our list has included more non-fiction recently, we’re so delighted to have found a daring new work of fiction. Niall has a unique voice, and Line is high-concept, philosophical, dystopian, and very smart. It’s the most exciting novel we’ve read in some time.”