Footnote Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired The Mires, a literary page turner set in New Zealand from award-winning author, Tina Makereti. Commissioning Editor Serena Arthur acquired UK & Commonwealth Rights, excluding ANZ and Canada, from Charlotte Seymour at Johnson and Alcock.
Recently shortlisted for the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, The Mires is a striking novel that follows the lives of three women who give birth in different countries and different decades. Single parent Keri has her hands full with four-year-old tearaway Walty and teen Wairere. They live next door to Janet, a white woman with an opinion about everything, and new arrival Sera, whose family are refugees from ecological devastation in Europe. When Janet’s son Conor arrives home without warning, sporting a fresh buzzcut and a new tattoo, the quiet tension between the neighbours grows, but no one suspects just how extreme Conor has become. No one except Wairere who can feel both the danger, and the swamp beneath their street, watching and waiting.
Tina Makereti said: ‘The Mires is a novel about what is happening to all of us now: the pressures on our humanity, fire and flood and what connects us. Seeing The Mires published in the UK, where part of it is set, means finding an audience in one of the book’s many homes. I’m very grateful and excited to have Footnote as publishers – their mission to ‘counter dominant narratives and retell the story’ is exactly how I have described my work in the past and their commitment to platforming marginalised voices is the ethos that drew me to them.’
Serena Arthur said: ‘I was instantly drawn in by Tina’s carefully-crafted and beautifully-written exploration of people, prejudice and power in The Mires. My colleagues and I were all enthralled by her brilliant, emotive characterisations of the full cast of central characters that make up this brilliant story. That, and the haunting warnings of and from the land itself, makes this novel a truly unforgettable read and I’m proud to be publishing it on the Footnote list this year.’
Charlotte Seymour said: ‘This is such a timely, important novel and I’m very excited to see it reach a wider international audience thanks to the team at Footnote.’
The Mires will be published on September 25 2025, simultaneously with the US.
Photo credit: Charlie Rose
