Our New Acquisition

Linden Editions has bought a new novel by Gabriella Zalapi, translated from French to English by Adriana Hunter.

The novel was originally published by Zoe Editions in Geneva, where it was the winner of the Prix Femina des Lycéens 2024, Prix Millepages 2024 and Prix Blù Jean-Marc Roberts 2024. It will be published in the UK by Linden Editions in 2026. It has also been acquired by Other Press.

The book is told from the "dreamlike" perspective of eight-year-old Ilaria, and set in the 1980s. In the book, Ilaria is picked up from school by her father and taken across the border to begin a wandering journey around northern Italy. Ilaria is an intimate and sensitive story of a young girl torn between two parents. All of us fell in love with Ilaria’s singular and powerful voice, her journey through Italy and the cast of characters around her.

Adriana Hunter said: "I so loved translating Ilaria that I was tempted to slow down towards the end – I just didn’t want to be parted from this endearing, bewildered child. I really admire Gabriella Zalapi’s restrained storytelling: the book is a masterclass in ‘show don’t tell’."