WINNER OF THE GORDON BOWKER VOLCANO PRIZE (SoA Award) 2024
WINNER OF THE LAMBDA AWARD IN TRANSGENDER FICTION 2024
Soula is the most exciting new voice in Irish writing' Barry Pierce, i-D
'One of my favourite books so far this year' Shahed Ezaydi, Stylist
'Soula Emmanuel is a phenomenal talent' Laura Kay
'Searingly sharp, deliciously funny, profound' Danielle McLaughlin
New home, new name and newly thirty: Phoebe Forde has stepped into emigrant life in Copenhagen with her anxious dog, Dolly. Almost three years into her gender transition, she has learned to move through the world carefully, savouring small moments of joy.
A woman without a past can be anyone she wants - that is, until an unexpected visit from Grace, her first love, brings memories of Dublin and a life she thought she'd left behind.
Over the course of a single weekend, as their old romance kindles something sweet and radically unfamiliar, Grace helps Phoebe to navigate the jagged edges of migration, nostalgia and hope.
'The must-read trans book of the summer' Pink News Soula Emmanuel is a trans writer who was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Greek father. She attended university in Ireland and Sweden, graduating with a master's in demography which she likes to think inspired her interest in society's outliers. She has written for IMAGE magazine, Rogue Collective and the Project Arts Centre, and has had fiction published by The Liminal Review. She was longlisted for Penguin's WriteNow programme in 2020, took part in the Stinging Fly fiction summer school in 2021 and was a participant in the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency's mentorship programme for 2021-22. She currently lives on Ireland's east coast. Debut novelist Soula Emmanuel tells the story of Phoebe Forde, an Irish trans woman living in Scandinavia who unexpectedly reconnects with her first (and only) girlfriend, igniting memories she thought she'd left behind. Irish millennial novel, but with a cool Scandi vibe. Soula's writing is beautiful, so atmospheric, funny and with exceptional characterisation. First trans novel by an Irish author: a brilliant and bold debut about crossing borders, boundaries and binaries, and the redeeming power of being known and accepted Female friendships: profound and profoundly funny conversations between friends - the trans Sally Rooney novel But more than a novel about 'the transgender issue': it is an exploration of what it means to live on the jagged edge of labels and loss in the twenty-first century Contemporary twist on the emigration story: explores the impact of a culture of migration and the alienation of a generation of young people from the housing markets of cities such as Dublin and London
