Tim Finch

A fashionable house in a London terrace, the House of Journalists is renowned around the world as a place of refuge for exiled writers who have fallen foul of oppressive regimes. Run by Julian Snowman, successful writer and broadcaster, its fellows include the newspaper editor Mr Stan whose hands were smashed with hammers; a journalist called Mustapha who spoke out vainly against a brutal coup (and got his name from an immigration officer who tells him he ‘Must ‘ave a name’); Agnes, a young photojournalist who recorded her country’s descent into civil war; and Sonny, who endured a harrowing journey to safety. Only one man guards his story: the new fellow, AA.

A first novel of rare originality, The House of Journalists creates an unforgettable world of displacement and hubris, heartbreak and humour; it has a narrative voice that is utterly distinct, at once beguiling and disturbing.

Edvard Behrends is a senior diplomat of some repute, highly regarded for his work on international peace negotiations. Under his arbitration, unimaginable atrocities are coolly dissected; invisible and ancient lines, grown taut and frayed with conflict, redrawn.

In his latest post, Edvard has been sent a resort hotel in the Tyrol. High up on this mountain, the air is bright and clear. When he isn’t working, Edvard reads, walks, listens to music. He confides in no one – no one but his wife Anna. Anna, who he loves with all his heart; Anna, always present and yet forever absent.

Honest, honourable, tragic, witty, wise, an unforgettable novel of love, loss, and the human longing for peace, Peace Talks maps the darkest and most tender territories of the human heart.