This unique literary thriller, included in Lambda Literary’s April 2023 list of their most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books, is out in the USA today!

Patrick, the first Irish Pope, is sure of many things: his faith, the sanctity of life, that he is a man, that he is celibate.

Then all he’s held true is cast into doubt.

How can he act as the moral heart of the church when his convictions falter and his secrets threaten to destroy all he’s achieved? Catholicism and modern morality are held in tension, and Pope Patrick must make once unimaginable choices. When the truth begins to emerge, the Vatican wants him silenced. The Pope’s sheltered existence becomes a race of life and death.

Maggie Hamand is a novelist, journalist, and non-fiction author. She wrote the best-selling Creative Writing for Dummies, and her first novel, The Resurrection of the Body, was published to critical acclaim and has been optioned for film and television. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Hull, where she leads MA modules in the Short Story and the Novel.

A Note from the Author:

This novel goes to the heart of current debates about abortion rights, gender and sexual identity, and the tension between scientific knowledge and religious faith. Written with the pace of a thriller, it’s a book that will carry you along to find out what happens at the same time as making you think.

Learn more about Virgin & Child here and grab a copy here.

We’re delighted to announce Martin Vopenka’s tour for the US release of his acclaimed novel My Brother the Messiah, a Times Science Fiction Book of the Month.

This tour is supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture, who partnered with us in bringing this English translation to the world,

“The Jewish-Czech author Martin Vopěnka is one of the leading voices in world literature, writing with ‘with a deft and compellingly simple control of sentences that is reminiscent of both Kafka and Kundera.” – Choice

It’s 2103 and Earth is baking. Scientists attempt to cool down the planet. With the coming of rain, a messiah is born. My Brother Messiah explores spirituality in the twilight of human civilization and presents a dark, vivid future of our world.

Watch this space – we’ll keep it updated with all current tour stops.

Events:

April 13th 6:30pm – Diesel Books, Brentwood, CA
In Conversation with Czech Writer and Visionary Martin Vopenka, with a reading by Czech actress Tereza Sbová. 

April 19th 5.30pm – Center for European and Russian Studies,  UCLA Campus, Los Angeles, CA
In Conversation with Martin Vopenka: Writing a Way out of Communism. More info.
Martin reflects on how, growing up in communist Europe, writers found their voices. What can we learn from their fictional worlds as we face our own troubled times?

April 20th – T.G. Masaryk Czech School, Cicero, IL
April 22nd – T.G. Masaryk Czech School, Cicero, IL
In Conversation with Martin Vopenka.

April 27th 6:00pm – The Czech Embassy, Washington, DC. In Conversation with Martin Vopenka. A collaborative event with the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center, the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, and Plamen Press.

May 3rd – Czech Centre NY, Bohemian National Hall, NY
In Conversation with Martin Vopenka, about his novels My Brother the Messiah and The Back of Beyond. Sign Up

A News Bulletin from Prague in 2096, performed by Martin Vopenka: