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    The Disappearers

    A Novel

    Author Marlon James On Tour
    Paperback
    $22.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Riverhead Books
    6.05"W x 9.17"H x 1.35"D   (15.4 x 23.3 x 3.4 cm) | 24 oz (678 g) | 12 per carton
    On sale Sep 01, 2026 | 640 Pages | 9798217433896
    Sales rights: US, Opn Mkt (no CAN)
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    From Marlon James, author of the Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings: a propulsive novel about the murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica and its tragic consequences.


    In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. The men are strangers to one another and each has a different reason for being involved. But they all share one inescapable truth: All of them are gay -- a "batty man" in Jamaican argot -- and all of them must contend with the dangers that such a truth lays bare.

    One night when the men are together a mob savagely attacks them, killing one of the men. For the survivors, their recovery is as much emotional as it is physical: As their bodies heal, each man grapples with the violence, the hatred, and the rage that the attack made plain. Some try to ignore what the attack unearthed, while others double down on retribution.

    In The Disappearers, Marlon James has written a riveting and deeply human story of men forced to make compromises to survive that the society they live in demands. It is both a dramatic page-turner and an unflinching exploration of queer life in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s.
    Early praise for The Disappearers

    “This language-rich novel is filled with vivid slang … As always, James writes exceptionally well….This book may remind readers of works by John Rechy, Jean Genet, William Burroughs, and Hubert Selby, but James is his own man.” – Library Journal (starred review)

    “Captivating and epic… James renders his characters’ tumultuous inner lives with striking imagery and energy; their dialogue is rapid, keen, and hard-hitting. In all, a gritty, powerful, and gripping read.”–Booklist

    “Galvanizing … Equal parts detective story and sociocultural history, James’ new novel takes a deep, harrowing dive into the tragic consequences of violent homophobia … with random, frantic voices that leave unsettling echoes.” –Kirkus (starred review)
    © Mark Seliger
    Marlon James is the Booker Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Seven Killings; the bestselling and National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf; as well as the bestselling Moon Witch, Spider King; The Book of Night Women; and John Crow’s Devil. In addition to the Booker Prize, James’s novels have won the Amer­ican Book Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, and the Los Ange­les Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, and have been finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the NAACP Image Award. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellow­ship and named in 2019 one of Time magazine’s one hundred most influential people in the world, James lives in New York City. View titles by Marlon James
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    Not available for sale:
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    •     Brit.Virgin Is.
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    •     Christmas Islnd
    •     Cocos Islands
    •     Cyprus
    •     Dominica
    •     Falkland Islnds
    •     Fiji
    •     Gambia
    •     Ghana
    •     Gibraltar
    •     Grenada
    •     Guernsey
    •     Guyana
    •     India
    •     Ireland
    •     Isle of Man
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    •     Swaziland
    •     Tanzania
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    •     Trinidad,Tobago
    •     Turks&Caicos Is
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    •     USA
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    •     United Kingdom
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    About

    From Marlon James, author of the Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings: a propulsive novel about the murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica and its tragic consequences.


    In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. The men are strangers to one another and each has a different reason for being involved. But they all share one inescapable truth: All of them are gay -- a "batty man" in Jamaican argot -- and all of them must contend with the dangers that such a truth lays bare.

    One night when the men are together a mob savagely attacks them, killing one of the men. For the survivors, their recovery is as much emotional as it is physical: As their bodies heal, each man grapples with the violence, the hatred, and the rage that the attack made plain. Some try to ignore what the attack unearthed, while others double down on retribution.

    In The Disappearers, Marlon James has written a riveting and deeply human story of men forced to make compromises to survive that the society they live in demands. It is both a dramatic page-turner and an unflinching exploration of queer life in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s.

    Praise

    Early praise for The Disappearers

    “This language-rich novel is filled with vivid slang … As always, James writes exceptionally well….This book may remind readers of works by John Rechy, Jean Genet, William Burroughs, and Hubert Selby, but James is his own man.” – Library Journal (starred review)

    “Captivating and epic… James renders his characters’ tumultuous inner lives with striking imagery and energy; their dialogue is rapid, keen, and hard-hitting. In all, a gritty, powerful, and gripping read.”–Booklist

    “Galvanizing … Equal parts detective story and sociocultural history, James’ new novel takes a deep, harrowing dive into the tragic consequences of violent homophobia … with random, frantic voices that leave unsettling echoes.” –Kirkus (starred review)

    Author

    © Mark Seliger
    Marlon James is the Booker Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Seven Killings; the bestselling and National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf; as well as the bestselling Moon Witch, Spider King; The Book of Night Women; and John Crow’s Devil. In addition to the Booker Prize, James’s novels have won the Amer­ican Book Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, and the Los Ange­les Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, and have been finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the NAACP Image Award. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellow­ship and named in 2019 one of Time magazine’s one hundred most influential people in the world, James lives in New York City. View titles by Marlon James

    Rights

    Available for sale exclusive:
    •     Guam
    •     Minor Outl.Ins.
    •     North Mariana
    •     Philippines
    •     Puerto Rico
    •     Samoa,American
    •     US Virgin Is.
    Available for sale non-exclusive:
    •     Afghanistan
    •     Aland Islands
    •     Albania
    •     Algeria
    •     Andorra
    •     Angola
    •     Anguilla
    •     Antarctica
    •     Argentina
    •     Armenia
    •     Aruba
    •     Austria
    •     Azerbaijan
    •     Bahrain
    •     Belarus
    •     Belgium
    •     Benin
    •     Bhutan
    •     Bolivia
    •     Bonaire, Saba
    •     Bosnia Herzeg.
    •     Bouvet Island
    •     Brazil
    •     Bulgaria
    •     Burkina Faso
    •     Burundi
    •     Cambodia
    •     Cameroon
    •     Cape Verde
    •     Centr.Afr.Rep.
    •     Chad
    •     Chile
    •     China
    •     Colombia
    •     Comoro Is.
    •     Congo
    •     Cook Islands
    •     Costa Rica
    •     Croatia
    •     Cuba
    •     Curacao
    •     Czech Republic
    •     Dem. Rep. Congo
    •     Denmark
    •     Djibouti
    •     Dominican Rep.
    •     Ecuador
    •     Egypt
    •     El Salvador
    •     Equatorial Gui.
    •     Eritrea
    •     Estonia
    •     Ethiopia
    •     Faroe Islands
    •     Finland
    •     France
    •     Fren.Polynesia
    •     French Guinea
    •     Gabon
    •     Georgia
    •     Germany
    •     Greece
    •     Greenland
    •     Guadeloupe
    •     Guatemala
    •     Guinea Republic
    •     Guinea-Bissau
    •     Haiti
    •     Heard/McDon.Isl
    •     Honduras
    •     Hong Kong
    •     Hungary
    •     Iceland
    •     Indonesia
    •     Iran
    •     Iraq
    •     Israel
    •     Italy
    •     Ivory Coast
    •     Japan
    •     Jordan
    •     Kazakhstan
    •     Kuwait
    •     Kyrgyzstan
    •     Laos
    •     Latvia
    •     Lebanon
    •     Liberia
    •     Libya
    •     Liechtenstein
    •     Lithuania
    •     Luxembourg
    •     Macau
    •     Macedonia
    •     Madagascar
    •     Maldives
    •     Mali
    •     Marshall island
    •     Martinique
    •     Mauritania
    •     Mayotte
    •     Mexico
    •     Micronesia
    •     Moldavia
    •     Monaco
    •     Mongolia
    •     Montenegro
    •     Morocco
    •     Myanmar
    •     Nepal
    •     Netherlands
    •     New Caledonia
    •     Nicaragua
    •     Niger
    •     Niue
    •     Norfolk Island
    •     North Korea
    •     Norway
    •     Oman
    •     Palau
    •     Palestinian Ter
    •     Panama
    •     Paraguay
    •     Peru
    •     Poland
    •     Portugal
    •     Qatar
    •     Reunion Island
    •     Romania
    •     Russian Fed.
    •     Rwanda
    •     Saint Martin
    •     San Marino
    •     SaoTome Princip
    •     Saudi Arabia
    •     Senegal
    •     Serbia
    •     Singapore
    •     Sint Maarten
    •     Slovakia
    •     Slovenia
    •     South Korea
    •     South Sudan
    •     Spain
    •     St Barthelemy
    •     St.Pier,Miquel.
    •     Sth Terr. Franc
    •     Sudan
    •     Suriname
    •     Svalbard
    •     Sweden
    •     Switzerland
    •     Syria
    •     Tadschikistan
    •     Taiwan
    •     Thailand
    •     Timor-Leste
    •     Togo
    •     Tokelau Islands
    •     Tunisia
    •     Turkey
    •     Turkmenistan
    •     Ukraine
    •     Unit.Arab Emir.
    •     Uruguay
    •     Uzbekistan
    •     Vatican City
    •     Venezuela
    •     Vietnam
    •     Wallis,Futuna
    •     West Saharan
    •     Western Samoa
    •     Yemen
    Not available for sale:
    •     Antigua/Barbuda
    •     Australia
    •     Bahamas
    •     Bangladesh
    •     Barbados
    •     Belize
    •     Bermuda
    •     Botswana
    •     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
    •     Brit.Virgin Is.
    •     Brunei
    •     Canada
    •     Cayman Islands
    •     Christmas Islnd
    •     Cocos Islands
    •     Cyprus
    •     Dominica
    •     Falkland Islnds
    •     Fiji
    •     Gambia
    •     Ghana
    •     Gibraltar
    •     Grenada
    •     Guernsey
    •     Guyana
    •     India
    •     Ireland
    •     Isle of Man
    •     Jamaica
    •     Jersey
    •     Kenya
    •     Kiribati
    •     Lesotho
    •     Malawi
    •     Malaysia
    •     Malta
    •     Mauritius
    •     Montserrat
    •     Mozambique
    •     Namibia
    •     Nauru
    •     New Zealand
    •     Nigeria
    •     Pakistan
    •     PapuaNewGuinea
    •     Pitcairn Islnds
    •     S. Sandwich Ins
    •     Seychelles
    •     Sierra Leone
    •     Solomon Islands
    •     Somalia
    •     South Africa
    •     Sri Lanka
    •     St. Helena
    •     St. Lucia
    •     St. Vincent
    •     St.Chr.,Nevis
    •     Swaziland
    •     Tanzania
    •     Tonga
    •     Trinidad,Tobago
    •     Turks&Caicos Is
    •     Tuvalu
    •     USA
    •     Uganda
    •     United Kingdom
    •     Vanuatu
    •     Zambia
    •     Zimbabwe

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