Floodlines: Celebrating new fiction from Saleem Haddad

“A searing meditation on hope, beautifully crafted and breathtaking in scope and reach. Floodlines is a book that mourns Iraq while celebrating its art and heritage, richness and commitment to life.” ―Tareq Baconi, author of Fire in Every Direction

We could not be more delighted to welcome bookshop favourite Saleem Hadded - acclaimed for his debut Guapa, with brilliant contributions to Palestine +100 and This Arab is Queer! Haddad joins us to celebrate and discuss a stunning new novel: Floodlines.

The Book:

In the summer of 2014, three estranged sisters are drawn back into each other’s orbits through the discovery of their late father’s lost paintings.

As Mediha, Zainab, and Ishtar lay claim to his legacy—an inheritance laced with exile, betrayal, and an Iraq they no longer recognise—Zainab’s son Nizar, a war correspondent haunted by his time on the front lines, returns to the family fold. As summer bleeds into autumn and the truth about the paintings unfurls, the family is forced to confront the personal and political betrayals that tore them apart.

Spanning continents and decades, Floodlines grapples with grief and memory, and charts the emotional and political aftershocks of a century of war.

Inspired by the artistic legacy of Haddad’s great uncle, the Iraqi modernist painter Jewad Selim, Floodlines explores family, queerness, and the wounds of (neo)colonialism in haunting, visceral prose.

This event will involve a 1hour discussion with the author, including and audience Q&A, followed by a drinks reception all are welcome to stay for.