PASSIONTIDE by Monique Roffey nominated for the inaugural CARICON Prize for Caribbean Literature

PASSIONTIDE – the latest novel by Costa Prize winning author Monique Roffey (THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH) – was shortlisted for the very first CARICON Prize for Fiction, a new annual literary award honouring outstanding works by Caribbean authors and storytellers across the diaspora. The paperback edition of the book was published in the UK by Vintage in May, with an American paperback forthcoming from Knopf on 23 September 2025.

In their nomination statement, CARICON called PASSIONTIDE ‘a provocative tale of love, faith and rebellion,’ adding that ‘Roffey confronts the tension between institutional power and human desire, crafting a bold vision of resistance and liberation in a tightly controlled society.’

The awards were started to spotlight voices that explore the richness, complexity, and evolution of Caribbean identity and experience across four categories: Fiction, Poetry, Children’s Literature and Young Adult Literature. Also shortlisted for the Fiction award were VILLAGE WEAVERS by Myriam J.A. Chancey, A HOUSE FOR MISS PAULINE by Diana McCaulay, CASUALTIES OF TRUTH by Lauren Francis-Sharma and The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud.

Rights for PASSIONTIDE were acquired by Alex Russell, Editorial Director at Vintage (UK and Commonwealth) and John Freeman, Executive Editor at Alfred A. Knopf (US) with a French edition to be published by Memoire D’Encrier in 2027. Monique’s previous novel, THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH, was a worldwide success, winning the Costa Book of the Year Award 2020 and being nominated for the Goldsmiths Prize, Folio Prize, Republic of Consciousness Prize, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, the Orwell Prize and the Ondaatje Prize. It has so far been translated into fourteen languages, and optioned for film.

Congratulations on this latest accolade, Monique!

About PASSIONTIDE

Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri’s carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.

As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There’s Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, a pink-haired, straight-talking local activist. Gigi, the ‘notorious’ founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago.

In a community in which women’s voices are often silenced and violence against them is overlooked time after time, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out – and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courage…

About Monique Roffey

Monique Roffey, FRSL, is an award-winning Trinidadian-born British writer of novels, essays, literary journalism and a memoir. THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH won the Costa Book of the Year Award 2020, and was nominated for eight other major awards. Her other Caribbean novels, THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE and HOUSE OF ASHES have also been nominated for awards. ARCHIPELAGO won the OCM Bocas Award for Caribbean Literature in 2013. Her work has been translated into many languages and adapted for screen. She was a co-founder of Writers Rebel within Extinction Rebellion and she is a member of the Hard Art collective. She is also a Professor of Contemporary Fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Praise for PASSIONTIDE

‘Roffey is channelling a woman story so deep and old it feels foundational to who we are and can be.  Raw and beautiful and in your face, this novel is a liberating read.’ – Julia Alvarez

‘PASSIONTIDE is a bold rallying cry of a novel. Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it.’ – Sarah Winman

‘Beautiful and important… By the end of this book, I was ready to join the revolution.’ – Safiya Sinclair

‘PASSIONTIDE has scale, politics and power – a thrilling read, I loved it’ – Sadie Jones

‘The best book I have read in years. It’s so wonderful: so rich, inspiring, funny, moving. A true chronicle of hope, in sisterhood, community, faith and men’ – Rosie Boycott

‘The spirit of carnival itself is in the writing. A powerful and electrifying novel’ – Jason Allen-Paisant

‘A vital novel that addresses a grossly normalised horror – it’s also fiery, funny and ferociously feminist, written with a singular rhythm and style, a beautiful ease.’ – Diana Evans

‘A raging, searing protest cry… A heartfelt novel filled with solidarity, love, joy, and moreover, unflinching honesty.’ – Courttia Newland

‘Riveting… Guided by its intricately drawn characters and razor-sharp characterisation, the novel captivates readers from its opening pages to its compelling conclusion’ – Roger Robinson

‘Once again, and with a terrific, lively cast of police officers, hookers, politicians, mothers, young women, old women, even the dead – Roffey lures you into her mesmerising world and spins an intricate, human story you can't wait to unravel. Yes, let’s smash the patriarchy!’ – Amanda Smyth

‘Roffey’s world-building power is evident on every page… Taken as a whole, PASSIONTIDE offers a devastating critique of the interrelationship between religion, sexism and colonialism… a full-throated campaign for change.’ – Kit Fan, The Guardian

‘The larger-than-life characters and at times ribald humour turn what could be a polemic into an exhilarating fantasy… Roffey’s use of Trinidadian English gives the narrative authenticity, particularity and lyrical energy.’ – Lindsey Hilsum, Times Literary Supplement

‘A masterful exploration of love, identity, and the complexities of human relationships.’ – Chaya Colman & Sophie Ezra, Glamour Magazine, ‘Best new books of June 2024’

‘Suspense-filled and simmering with anger’ – Francesca Peacock, ‘The Best New Fiction’, Mail on Sunday

Praise for Monique Roffey

‘Monique Roffey is a unique talent and most daring and versatile of writers. I never know what to expect and I’m never disappointed.’ – Bernardine Evaristo

‘Monique Roffey is a writer of verve, vibrancy and compassion, and her work is always a joy to read.’ – Sarah Hall

‘Monique Roffey has established herself as a fearless writer with her choices of subject and her visceral style.’ – Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian

Six Blake Friedmann titles selected as The Bookseller’s Season Highlights

We are delighted to share that a fine array of six Blake Friedmann authors have been picked by The Bookseller in their Spring/Summer Buyers’ Guide Season Highlights. Three of our authors’ titles were selected in the Fiction guide, and a further three in the Non-Fiction guide.

Top Row: GROW WHERE THEY FALL by Michael Donkor (Fig Tree); THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD by Peter James (Pan Macmillan); PASSIONTIDE by Monique Roffey (author photo: Marcus Bastel).
Bottom Row: NEWBORN by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus); MY FAMILY MEALS by Grace Mortimer; EVERY KIND OF PEOPLE by Kathryn Faulke (Fig Tree).

The nominated titles in fiction are: GROW WHERE THEY FALL, the stunning second novel by Michael Donkor (Fig Tree, 7 March); the much-anticipated THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD: Sandy’s Story by Peter James, which spins off from the bestselling Roy Grace series to uncover the long-speculated mystery of Sandy’s disappearance (Pan Macmillan, 9 May); and PASSIONTIDE, a powerful new Caribbean-set novel by Costa Prize winner Monique Roffey (Harvill Secker, 27 June).

In Non-Fiction, the titles selected are: NEWBORN by Kerry Hudson, her beautiful memoir detailing her experience of building a family without a blueprint to work from (Chatto & Windus, 1 February); EVERY KIND OF PEOPLE, a heartbreaking and uplifting debut memoir by a community care worker (Fig Tree, 11 July); and MY FAMILY MEALS by Grace Mortimer, a fresh collection of simple but delicious five-ingredient recipes (HQ, 18 July).

The Bookseller is the UK’s weekly trade magazine for the publishing industry: their biannual Buyer’s Guides, listing almost every book publishing in the UK, are highly influential catalogues, used by bookshops to select stock they want to order; by the press looking for books to feature and review, and authors to interview; and by other literary enthusiasts who want to know what’s coming out when and what to get excited about.

Congratulations to all of our authors whose upcoming publications have been selected!

Costa-winner Monique Roffey brings ‘electrifying’ new novel PASSIONTIDE to Harvill Secker

Credit: Marcus Bastel

Returning three years after the enormous international success of the Costa Book of the Year winner, THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH, we are thrilled to announce Monique Roffey’s new novel PASSIONTIDE, a timely and captivating women-led story about violence and revolution set in the Caribbean. Harvill Secker will launch the novel in the UK and Commonwealth in May 2024 with an “unmissable” marketing and publicity campaign, as part of the two-book deal agreed in 2021 between Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann and Vintage senior commissioning editor Alex Russell.

‘Written with much thought love and care, this is a book about women I’ve waited my whole life to write,’ says Monique. ‘It’s been a huge pleasure to work with a dream team at Harvill Secker.’

Speaking on behalf of Harvill Secker, Alex Russell said: ‘We are immensely proud to be publishing Monique’s new novel. It is an electrifying story about community and protest, courage and freedom, friendship and love. PASSIONTIDE speaks powerfully to our moment and brings us a remarkable cast of characters who live on in the mind. Monique is a vital, spellbinding storyteller and we look forward to sharing this major new book with her legions of fans.’

‘Monique Roffey writes with such insight about both tenderness and violence, an unforgettable depiction of a wounded community and the fierce belief in the possibility of creating a better future,’ added Isobel Dixon. ‘I am delighted that the exceptional Harvill Secker team are working with Monique on PASSIONTIDE.’

Set in the Caribbean, PASSIONTIDE follows four women as they spark a revolution in the aftermath of a shocking event. The synopsis reads: ‘Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri’s carnival, a young female steel pan player is found dead beneath a tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island. Vivid and fiercely alive, PASSIONTIDE is a novel of women daring to imagine a different world.’

About Monique Roffey

Monique Roffey is an award-winning Trinidadian-born writer. She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her novel HOUSE OF ASHES was shortlisted for the COSTA Fiction Award, as well as the OCM BOCAS Award. ARCHIPELAGO won the OCM BOCAS Award for Caribbean Literature in 2013 and was shortlisted for the Orion Award 2014. In 2010, her novel THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Encore Award.

THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH was shortlisted for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize and the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize, and won both the Costa Novel Prize and the Costa Book of the Year Award 2020. The book was first published in the UK by Peepal Tree Press in 2020, before reaching a wider audience with a new edition published by Vintage in 2021, becoming one of the imprint’s first ‘Vintage Earth’ titles the following year. It was also published in the US and Canada by Knopf in 2022. Translation rights have been sold in fifteen countries, it was featured as a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, and Film/TV rights were won (at auction) by Dorothy Street Pictures.

Praise for Monique Roffey

‘A unique talent and most daring and versatile of writers. I never know what to expect and I’m never disappointed.’ – Bernardine Evaristo        

‘A major contribution to the new wave of Caribbean writing… Roffey is a magical storyteller’ – Olive Senior, Commonwealth Prize-winner

‘Monique Roffey has established herself as a fearless writer with her choices of subject and her visceral style.’ – Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian

‘Monique Roffey is a writer of verve, vibrancy and compassion, and her work is always a joy to read.’ – Sarah Hall

‘Roffey is a fantastic talent who, one hopes, will keep writing for years to come’ Lisa Rohrbaugh, Literary Journal

‘One of our most exciting new Caribbean voices.’ – A.L. Kennedy

‘Monique Roffey has a sharp, original way of looking at the world.’ – Christina Hardyment, The Times

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