“Highlights everything that speculative fiction, of all possible modes of literature, excels at.” – Nina Allan
The Swimmers
Novel
After the ravages of the Green Winter, Earth is a place of deep jungles and monstrous animals. The last of the human race is divided into surface dwellers and the people who live in the Upper Settlement, a ring perched at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. Pearl, a young techie with a thread of shuvaní blood, lives in the isolated forests of Gobarí, navigating her mad mother and the strange blue light in the sky. But Pearl’s stepfather promises her to a starborn called Arlo, and the world Pearl thought she knew will never be the same again. Set in the luscious landscape of a near-future Andalusia, this claustrophobic, dystopian reimagining of Wide Sargasso Sea is a fever dream.
One of the 10 Best Science Fiction Novels of 2021, The Sunday Times
“A richly imagined eco-gothic tale” – The Guardian
“Exquisitely realised” – The Times
“Draws in readers immediately… Readers will be captivated” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“The Swimmers is marvellous, heart-breaking. Womack is a wonderful writer.” – Aliya Whiteley
“Fluid and gorgeously intimate.” – G.V. Anderson
“Speculative fiction at its best: thought-provoking, riveting, and gorgeously told.” – Jennie Melamed
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lost objects
Short fiction
These stories explore place and landscape at different stages of decay, positioning them as fighting grounds for death and renewal. From dystopian Andalusia to Scotland or the Norfolk countryside, they bring together monstrous insects, ghostly lovers, soon-to-be extinct species, unexpected birds, and interstellar explorers, to form a coherent narrative about loss and absence.
Shortlisted for two BFA Awards – Best Collection & Best Newcomer
Shortlisted for a BSFA Award – Best short story, ‘Kingfisher’
“An intriguing and illuminating first collection, chockfull of interesting ideas about the natural world and ourselves.” Jeff VanderMeer
“A beautiful, haunting eulogy to our planet.” Eco-Fiction
“These stories, where birds drop from the sky and giant butterflies haunt the imagination, fizz with a unique and strange originality.” Gary Budden
“A gorgeous, intelligent collection, both masterfully written and cannily prescient… and crafted in a manner that I suspect we will come to recognise as uniquely Womack.” Laura Mauro, Black Static
“Luminous and disturbing as the unearthly things they describe, Marian Womack’s gorgeously written tales map the shifting boundaries between waking life and dream, past and future and our own profoundly unsettled present. Reading them left me with goosebumps.” Elizabeth Hand
“This book–an aviary of the strange, a vital evocation of wild and fleeting spirits–marks the emergence of a fantastic new talent.” Helen Marshall
“These short story gems dance at the edge of the world, finding poetry in loss and devastation. Marian Womack is an artist with a unique and powerfully-wrought vision.” Una McCormack
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Marian Womack 