Faber Editions Announced
Faber celebrates radical literary voices from history with new publishing list
Faber announces an exciting new publishing list, Faber Editions, which is dedicated to radical literary voices from across the world.
Curated from Faber’s 90-year archive and beyond, titles will be published quarterly. With bold covers inspired by Faber’s iconic design heritage, each £8.99 flapped paperback will feature a new foreword by a contemporary champion.
The launch title in August 2021 is Rachel Ingalls’s Mrs Caliban (1982). This ‘amphibious cult classic’ about a housewife’s passionate affair with a frogman is introduced by Irenosen Okojie, with fans including Patricia Lockwood, Marlon James and Sarah Hall.
It will be followed by Wilson Harris’s Palace of the Peacock (1960) in November. Chronicling a riverboat crew’s epic voyage into the rainforest, this landmark novel is celebrated as ‘genius’ by Jamaica Kincaid in her new introduction.
Then, in February 2022, Carmen Maria Machado will be introducing the third Editions title, Kay Dick’s lost dystopia They (1977).
Further titles will be announced in the autumn.
Editor Ella Griffiths said:
‘For almost a century Faber has prided itself on writers who “make it new” – but it feels crucial, and incredibly exciting, to always be diversifying what that means. With the Faber Editions list, we wanted to create a thrilling, inclusive space to celebrate radical literary voices from history which speak not only to our present, but our future. Published with frontlist energy, these outstanding novels embody that spirit, and we can’t wait for new generations of readers to experience their magic.’
Designer Pete Adlington said:
‘Our mandate for Faber Editions was to create a bold and diverse series style that matched the subversiveness and eclecticism of the list. In a nod to our heritage, the Editions branding is a reimagined version of the original Faber Paper Covered Editions strip created by Berthold Wolpe in the 1950s. This striking branding alongside a limited colour palette and focus on arresting typography creates a platform that will allow a varied array of designers and artists to contribute to future Editions, while ensuring the list coheres visually with a collective voice.’
The amphibious cult classic: this magical tale of a suburban housewife’s affair with a frogman is ‘seductive’ (Margaret Atwood), ‘genius’ (Patricia Lockwood), ‘perfect’ (Max Porter), ‘a feminist masterpiece’ (Carmen Maria Machado), and ‘out-weirds and out-romances anything today’ (Marlon James).