Faber acquires Yan Ge’s English language debuts

Publishing Director Angus Cargill has bought UK & Commonwealth rights to a collection of short stories and a novel by Yan Ge from Matt Turner at RCW in an exclusive submission. North American rights were then pre-empted by Rebekah Jett at Scribner.

Cargill, who published Yan Ge’s short story ‘How I Fell in Love with the well-Documented Life of Alexander Whelan’ in 2019’s Being Various: New Irish Short Stories, edited by Lucy Caldwell, describes Yan’s collection, Elsewhere – scheduled for publication in Spring 2023 – as ‘unforgettable: made up of wild, exciting, disturbing stories about dispossession and ideas of home and identity. Set between contemporary Ireland and ancient China, Yan effortlessly takes you as the reader wherever she goes, between cultures and genres. Hotel Destination, the novel to follow, promises to be even wilder – a deep dive into the world of tomorrow, and where we might be heading. Think Under the Skin, Earthlings, and The Lobster.’ 

Yan Ge commented: ‘I have been writing in Chinese for eighteen years, and it took me a long time searching to find my voice in a new literary language. The stories in Elsewhere include a polyphony of voices, anti-dualistic propositions and characters whose identities are constantly in flux – this sense of perpetual displacement is what I want to continue to explore and celebrate in my fiction.

It feels very much like a dream come true to have found a publisher in Faber, the perfect home for Elsewhere and Hotel Destination. The first book I read after moving to Ireland in 2015 was published by Faber and throughout the years, numerous Faber books have inspired and nurtured me. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Angus Cargill and his wonderful colleagues at Faber to bring my new fiction into the world.’

Yan Ge was born in Sichuan, China in 1984. She is the author of thirteen books in Chinese, including five novels, and was named by People’s Literature magazine as one of twenty future literature masters in China. Her work has been translated into eleven languages, most recently The Strange Beasts of China (Tilted Axis Press/Melville House, 2020). In 2019 she was on the judging panel of the International Dublin Literary Award and her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Irish Times, TLS and The Stinging Fly among others.

Author photograph: copyright Ken Chen