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
‘Wild Geese is proof that 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’s prose is breathtaking: searingly sharp, deliciously funny, profound. Wild Geese is a beautiful and devastating read. An extraordinary debut. I loved this deeply intelligent and emotionally powerful novel‘ – Danielle McLaughlin, prizewinning author of DINOSAURS ON OTHER PLANETS and THE ART OF FALLING
‘Wild Geese is heartfelt, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted. Soula Emmanuel is a phenomenal talent‘ – Laura Kay, author of TELL ME EVERYTHING and THE SPLIT
‘Phoebe Forde, an Irish trans woman living in Scandinavia, illustrates with insight, candor and wit, the chrysalis of loneliness in which she, and others perhaps, find themselves living. I am reminded that some women still have to leave Ireland for the chance to become themselves. Wild Geese is an intimate and deeply affecting portrait. Destined to be a classic of migrant literature‘ – Carmel McMahon, author of IN ORDINARY TIME
‘Brilliant, moving, witty, funny, incredibly intelligent and emotionally insightful… I laughed, I teared up, I lived that weekend with Phoebe and Grace. I loved it‘ – Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of FAYNE
‘Wild Geese is sweet and moving without being sentimental, clear-eyed about the trans experience without being either lachrymose or didactically hopeful, and as entertaining as it is smart. It deserves all its success and more’ – oestrogeneration
‘Every sentence is a joy. Emmanuel’s prose is second to none – playful, erudite and completely unexpected. Wild Geese makes a powerful, moving case for the pursuit of newness in the world and in life. Not only does Emmanuel convincingly transport the reader to Copenhagen, she reveals to us the possibility at the heart of travel to a new place: that it might show us a different way of living.’ – Yara Rodriguez Fowler, Author of STUBBORN ARCHIVIST and THERE ARE MORE THINGS
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.
