Virago triumphs in seven-way auction for Belim’s ‘breathtaking’ Ukrainian family memoir

Virago has snapped up journalist Victoria Belim’s Red Sirens: A Ukrainian Family Memoir in a seven-way auction.

Rose Tomaszewska, editorial director at Virago, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Charlie Campbell at Greyhound Literary. Translation rights have sold in 10 territories so far.

The “poignant and breathtaking” account of Belim’s family history across four generations as she searches for traces of her great-uncle, who disappeared in the 1930s, will be published in spring 2023. 

Its synopsis explains: "Red Sirens is a Ukrainian family history, embroidering its tragic and little understood past with the true colours of human experience: the families torn apart, the traditions that endure and the complex relationship with a Soviet past and children making new lives in the West. Profound, compassionate and threaded with unexpected joy, it is a love letter to a family and their country."

Tomaszewska said: "I held my breath while reading Red Sirens. This is a memoir that doesn’t pinpoint Ukraine to a tragic moment in the news, or in its past, but reveals a richer tapestry, one to which many families can relate. Meeting Victoria felt like a meeting of minds and I am thrilled to bring her wonderful book to Virago. We will publish it as one of the biggest memoirs of the year.”

Belim is a Ukrainian writer, journalist and translator of Persian literature and poetry. She has a column in the Financial Times  and her writing on culture and lifestyle topics has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Elle, Red  and Marie Claire. 

She said: “As a long-time reader of books published by Virago, I am honoured for Red Sirens to be included on its stellar list. I look forward to working with Rose, whose creativity and vision have inspired me from our first encounter, and I am delighted about our new adventure together.”