Granta

Granta, the magazine and Granta Books, the publisher share their mission to discover and publish the best of new literary voices—fiction, memoirs, reportage and poetry—from across the world.

Whilst the magazine was founded in 1889 by students at Cambridge University as The Granta, a periodical of student politics, it was transformed into a literary quarterly in 1979 and ten years later into, Granta Books, the publication. Which had originally set out to publish six books a year, distributed and promoted by Penguin. 

In 1997 however, Granta Books was expanded by its previous owner, Rea Hederman, publisher of the New York Review of Books. Following which, the publication saw exponential growth. Today, Granta Books publishes around thirty new titles a year, providing authors with the intimacy of a small, passionate and creative team, while consistently punching above its weight in review coverage, prizes, cultural impact and sales.

Most celebrated for its focus on issues of the young and for publishing the most important voices of our generation—Granta has managed to make a deep impact on the world’s literary landscape. The Granta books catalogue has twenty-seven Nobel Prize laureates.

A journey into the soul of a nation; A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam begins with a message informing Krishan that his grandmother's former caregiver has died. As Krishan makes the train journey from the Sri Lankan capital into the war-torn Northern Province for the funeral, he travels into the soul of a country devastated by civil war. Written with precision and grace, the book is a luminous meditation on time and consciousness, race and national identity, and a poignant exploration of the unattainable distances between who we are and what we seek. 

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley is an insightful, compelling and painfully funny account of a family strained to breaking point; a reckoning with the damage we do over the course of a life. Helen Grant has always been a mystery to her daughter. Twice-divorced, with few friends, her desire to join in is matched only by her need to stand apart. As Bridget looks back over their fractious relationship, she is forced to confront the cruelties inflicted on both sides. 

In yet another gritty tale by Granta Books—Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is an unconventional story of a woman with unconventional choices. Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store. 

*Convenience Store Woman comes in three different colours; the colour you receive will be chosen at random*