Scribe acquires Joshua Santospirito graphic novel
Scribe is pleased to announce the acquisition of The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors, a new graphic novel by Joshua Santospirito. Joshua is the author/illustrator of Swallows, a graphic novella about the immigrant experience in Australia, and adapted Craig San Roque’s The Long Weekend in Alice Springs into a cult-classic graphic novel that won the prize for best nonfiction at the 2014 Chief Minister’s NT Book Awards and was called ‘the best thing I’ve been handed to read in ages’ by Neil Gaiman.
The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors is the beautifully hand-drawn story of Joshua’s visit to the Aeolian islands of Italy with his parents to seek out past connections and family roots. He and his father hope to locate the burial place of Joshua’s great-great-grandfather on the island of Salina, but it’s not always so easy to find the past you’re looking for, nor to travel with your parents. As Joshua learns more about this sun-drenched volcanic archipelago, its people, and their history, he also explores the mysteries of family — and the magic of creating your own place in the world.
‘This book immediately charmed me, and everyone at Scribe,’ says senior editor David Golding. ‘I couldn’t stop reading, and every re-read since then has captured me again. It’s a tale of migration and return, of the rise to stardom of Ingrid Bergman, it’s got volcanoes, it’s got the cheeky wind god Aeolus, it’s witty and surprising … Joshua’s perspectives are unique, but there’s something in here for everyone.’
Scribe will publish The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors in the first half of 2024.