These are just some of the unhelpful dichotomies we aim to break down with our publishing
Footnote is an award-winning platform for marginalised stories and perspectives. We are committed to inclusivity and innovation across all aspects of our publishing. Our mission is to counter dominant narratives and retell the story.
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The Coin by Yasmin Zaher is longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize
In enthralling, sensory prose, The Coin explores nature and civilisation, beauty and justice, class and belonging – all while resisting easy moralising. Provocative, wry and inviting, The Coin marks the arrival of a major new literary voice.
EVENT: Hanako Footman in conversation with Hanna Thomas Uose on 1 April at Daunt Books, Oxford
Join us to hear Hanako Footman & Hanna Thomas Uose in conversation about their debut novels, Mongrel and Who Wants to Live Forever. Tickets here.
Footnote acquires Hunting in America by Tehila Hakimi
With a poet’s eye and a hunter’s aim, Hakimi’s beguiling debut novel is a taut, twisty story about the everyday violence that haunts countries.
‘An extraordinary trip through 20th century history’ — Séamas O’Reilly
The extraordinary story of a group of forgotten radicals who found themselves drawn to communist Moscow’s hotbed of international revolutionary activity: the Hotel Lux
The most captivating debut of 2024, ‘It must be read’ — Lisa Taddeo
An exquisite debut novel weaving together the voices of three young women in Japan and the UK as the threads of their lives twist and entangle in unexpected ways
‘A fascinating, passionate and political case for art’s world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer’ — Robert Macfarlane
An urgent reminder that art can make a human life more bearable, and can be a means of building the things that a person needs to survive the bleakest circumstances.
‘Moskovich writes sentences that lilt and slink, her plots developing as a slow seduction and then clouding like a smoke-filled room’ — Guardian
A vibrant, muscular genre-bending novel set in the coldest night of a Berlin winter as decades of Russian and Ukrainian history unfold alongside a broken love affair. The Waste Land for our times, this is a forceful, dark and unexpectedly erotic anthem for doomed youth.
‘Enzo Traverso delivers a stinging riposte, rigorously anchored in his mastery of European Jewish history’ — Rashid Khalidi
A hard-hitting and robust analysis of the war in Gaza – and the world’s response – from one of the most highly respected intellectuals of the left.
‘A brilliantly conceived family history, one that places questions of responsibility and atonement at the center of the conversation about America’s political future’ — the Whiting Foundation
An award-winning author investigates the entangled history of her Jewish ancestors’ land in South Dakota and the Lakota, who were forced off that land by the United States government.
‘Prepare to laugh, sob and dance’ — Telegraph
This fascinating journey through the complex histories of India, its performance traditions and cultural history is a love letter to cinema, an invitation to learn about the largest film fandom on the planet, and a window onto the rise of modern India.
‘A riveting read. It’s captivating, enlightening, and thought provoking.’ — Steve Stewart-Williams
An astounding and inspiring look at the science behind tribalism, and how we can learn to harness it to improve the world around us.
‘A brilliant and original history of the chemical dreamscape of American democracy…’ — Charles King
A bold and brilliant revisionist take on the history of psychedelics in the twentieth century, illuminating how a culture of experimental drugs shaped the Cold War and the birth of Silicon Valley.
‘A real celebration and ode to women who hold up the art of cinema.’ — Mollie Goodfellow
Leading film critic of her generation offers an unflinchingly honest and humorous account of her mixed-race millennial journey towards self-acceptance through a cinematic lens.
‘A beautiful account of how music has unified, healed and inspired humanity during some of history’s darkest days’ — James O’Brien
Joe Mulhall uncovers how music has shaped resistance movements across the globe, from Irish protest songs to Apartheid South Africa to the artists in Ukraine today.
‘Edifying and enlivening’ — Kate Baer
Linguist and writer Malwina Gudowska unpicks the myths surrounding multilingualism and the political, emotional and gendered weight of passing down language to your children
‘Skinner goes in search of a different way of life… a sensitive and colourful account’ — New Statesman
A journey around the UK’s communes, eco-villages and co-living spaces to find more compassionate, connected and sustainable ways to live.
‘Paul Baker captures essence of an essentially uncapturable phenomenon making it just knowable enough for all. My dear, she’s on fire!’ — Damian Barr
By the bestselling author of Fabulosa! and Outrageous!, this reappraisal of camp across time and in all its glorious forms shows how an inescapable part of popular culture has also played an important role in equality movements as a form of protest or resistance.
‘Only Kiyoko Murata can convey this world’ — Yoko Ogawa
A vibrant historical novel following a tenacious and quick-witted young Japanese girl who becomes the protégée of a highest-ranking courtesan, from Akutagawa-Prize winner Kiyoko Murata
‘Will burrow under your skin and live forever in your darkest dreams’ — Bust
Joyce Carol Oates assembles an outstanding cast of authors – including Margaret Atwood, Raven Leilani, and Cassandra Khaw – to explore, subvert, and reinvent one of the most vital subgenres of horror.
‘Soula is the most exciting new voice in Irish writing’ — Barry Pierce, i-D
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.
‘Explosive from the first page’ — Mateo Askaripour
Her play, his name – a young Black playwright hatches a plan with her white male friend to expose the racism of the British theatrical establishment in this whip-smart, immersive satire, perfect for fans of YELLOWFACE
‘This fantastically strange, explosive debut novel entrances even as it unsettles. It’s so brilliantly written’ — Buzzfeed
A mesmerising debut novel of sapphic longing, intense obsession and fierce, defiant becoming – enthralling and visceral, this is an unforgettable vision of adolescence in all its horrific glory.
‘A landmark work on perhaps the essential question of our time’ — David Wallace-Wells
Drawing on a decade of original on-the-ground reporting, Schwartstein tells the story of the largely overlooked ways in which climate stress is fuelling everything from urban crime to old school piracy to warfare.
Foreword by Bernardine Evaristo
‘Extraordinary conversations with many of the greatest minds and most inspiring figures of our age… Together they form a snap-shot of where the peoples of the Black diaspora stand, today in the early 21st Century, and how much has been overcome to get here.’ — David Olusoga
‘A force to be reckoned with and utterly tireless… With typical laser focus, she repeatedly questions which things society pays attention to and which we consider insignificant.’ — Laura Bates, Guardian
Draws on first-hand experiences of war in countries as diverse as Ukraine, Syria and Northern Ireland to show how women’s wars are not men’s wars.
‘A compassionate, beautifully told portrait’ — Guy Gunaratne
At once a polyphonic exploration of the UK immigration system and the story of one woman’s attempt to find a life for herself amidst the pressures of her job
‘Paul Baker captures essence of an essentially uncapturable phenomenon making it just knowable enough for all. My dear, she’s on fire!’ — Damian Barr
By the bestselling author of Fabulosa! and Outrageous!, this reappraisal of camp across time and in all its glorious forms shows how an inescapable part of popular culture has also played an important role in equality movements as a form of protest or resistance.
‘This book is a must-read. A timely reappraisal of the very notion of comparing people, objects and places.’ — Aiden Sidebottom
Bullsh*t Comparisons will challenge the way you think about the political use and social abuse of the metaphors and metrics that warp our understanding of an unequal world.
‘This fantastically strange, explosive debut novel entrances even as it unsettles. It’s so brilliantly written’ — Buzzfeed
A mesmerising debut novel of sapphic longing, intense obsession and fierce, defiant becoming – enthralling and visceral, this is an unforgettable vision of adolescence in all its horrific glory.
New York Times Bestseller
A devastating look at how mental health ‘care’ has been historically used to oppress the Black community in the United States – told through the prism of a segregated asylum, Crownsville Hospital for the Negro Insane in Maryland.
‘Incendiary . . . A uniquely trans story’ — Dazed
Ponyboy pops pills, snorts speed, and attempts art as he comes to terms with his transmasculinity and addiction in Paris and Berlin, in the electric debut from Eliot Duncan.
‘This work delivers a much better alternative to activism than a ‘one size fits all’ approach’ — Desmond Meade
A data-backed investigation into what makes protest and mass movements around the world effective, written by a leading political scientist.
‘An anthology to treasure and return to’ — Elinor Cleghorn
A first-of-its-kind anthology of nature writing by authors living with chronic illness and physical disability.
‘The Coin is not a wonderful beginning that promises masterpieces to come – it already is a masterpiece’ — Slavoj Zizek
A bold and unabashed novel about a young Palestinian woman’s unravelling as she teaches at a New York City middle school, gets caught up in a scheme reselling Birkin bags, and strives to gain control over her body and mind.
Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, Indigenous Writers’ Prize, UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing, Longlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize
Debra Dank has created an extraordinary mosaic of vivid episodes that move about in time and place to tell an unforgettable story of country and people.