Few and Far Between

A piece of land that should not exist; a community established on unstable ground with dreams of utopia. For readers who love literary fiction with a dark imaginative twist, the haunting new novel from the winner of the European Prize for Literature. 'One of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O'Donnell, author of Nesting 'Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness ___ In 1958, a politician proposes a plan so absurd it should have remained a footnote in history: drain the largest lake in Ireland to create new land. In Jan Carson's dazzling vision, the plan goes ahead... It's summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago, formed over fifty years ago, are facing eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak around the islands will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in decades. Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children, following their father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a chance to reinvent themself, to be free of the prejudices and history of the mainland. But perhaps this utopia wasn't all that it seemed. Marion and Robert-John have grown accustomed to their haunted existence on the Ark, monitoring the mysterious Far Side, where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. How will they cope when they lose everything they've ever known. And will the Ark ever let them go... For fans of the eerie tenderness of Our Wives Beneath the Sea or the political hauntings of Mariana Enriquez, this is the real world made strangely new. _____ 'Her best book yet' Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow 'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson]' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples 'No one writes like Jan Carson... Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace.' Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals 'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too... reading her is always an adventure.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies 'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace 'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times

Jan Carson is a writer based in Belfast. She has published three novels, three short story collections and two micro-fiction collections. Her novel The Fire Starters won the EU Prize for Literature for Ireland 2019. Jan's latest novel, The Raptures was published by Doubleday in early 2022 and was subsequently shortlisted for the An Post Irish Novel of the Year and Kerry Group Novel of the Year. Her short story collection Quickly, While They Still Have Horses was published by Doubleday (UK) in April 2024 and Scribner (US) in July 2024. Her writing has been aired on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and RTE. She is the Seamus Heaney Centre Fellow at Queen's University Belfast 2025 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her first stage play, an adaptation of the children's classic, The Velveteen Rabbit will be produced by Replay Theatre Company at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast in March 2025. Her next novel, Few and Far Between is forthcoming in early 2026.