Footnote Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has pre-empted Omar Musa’s second novel, Fierceland.
Commissioning Editor Serena Arthur acquired World English rights (excluding Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia), from Becky Thomas at Lewinsohn Literary Agency. It will be published summer 2026.
Fierceland, which has already garnered praise from Mohsin Hamid, Raymond Antrobus and Bora Chung, is a modern, language-bending story of two siblings who return to Malaysian Borneo for the state funeral of their wealthy palm-oil baron father and to reckon with their inheritance. Harun is successful tech entrepreneur in Los Angeles and Roz is an artist struggling to stay afloat in Sydney and both want to return something their father stole from the forests of their homeland. A trailblazing journey across the globe, Fierceland weaves the past and the present into an emotionally powerful family saga that plays out at a mythical scale.
Fierceland has already received praise on publication in Australia earlier this year from The Guardian, ‘Fierceland glows with energy and its mosaic of time and place, myth, game and imagination is reminiscent of the expansive work of Richard Powers.’ And Asian Review of Books, ‘its urgency feels like an irresistible invitation to think, and to act.’
Omar Musa is an author, visual artist, rapper, and poet. He has released poetry books, hip-hop records and an acclaimed one man play, Since Ali Died. His debut novel Here Come the Dogs, was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia’s most prestigious literary prize.
Omar Musa said: ‘I am absolutely stoked to be joining Footnote Press. The team at Footnote is full of vision, vim, integrity and joy. I’m particularly impressed by how they are amplifying Palestinian voices. My novel Fierceland is both a love letter to Borneo and an elegy to the things we’ve lost. It is also a ghost story about corruption, complicity, oil palm, vanishing forests, and the search for home – I can’t wait to share it with a UK readership.’
Serena Arthur said: ‘From the beautifully multi-layered characters at its heart to its varied form, Fierceland grabbed me from the initial pitch and didn’t let me go and I can’t wait for it to do the same to so many other readers via our publication at Footnote. As a poet as well as an editor, I also loved the way Omar played with language, form and verse in this book and think that he way he explores themes of complicity, belonging and inheritance is masterful. Omar is a star in and across so many different mediums and I’m so honoured to be working with him.’
Fierceland will publish in hardback, eBook and audio on 20th August 2026, with the trade paperback publishing on 23rd July.
