Soula Emmanuel

“Chaotic, sexy, and binge-worthy as hell, Be Gay, Do Crime is an EVENT.”—Ruth Madievsky, author of All Night PharmacyA follow-up to their runaway success Peach Pit: Sixteen Stories of Unsavory Women, editors Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley return with Be Gay, Do Crime, a celebration of queer chaos from an all-queer author lineup featuring Myriam Gurba, Emily Austin, Alissa Nutting, and Francesca EkwuyasiA trans woman makes increasingly frequent hoax calls to a business where she's had a negative experience, watching the consequences with perverse joy. A group of aging queers turns to bank robbery to stop the sale of their bungalow complex to a development company. As the president prepares to give a speech, two women lurk among the journalists, ready to shoot him. And an aspiring author takes to stealing items from strangers’ homes in a kind of cosmic redistribution each time one of her relationships fail. In sixteen brilliant, wild-eyed stories, Be Gay, Do Crime delivers a celebration and reckoning of why queer people turn to crime–unintentionally, as a means of survival, as protest, as rescue, or to right injustices big and small.

WINNER OF THE GORDON BOWKER VOLCANO PRIZE (SoA Award) 2024WINNER OF THE LAMBDA AWARD IN TRANSGENDER FICTION 2024Soula is the most exciting new voice in Irish writing' Barry Pierce, i-D'One of my favourite books so far this year' Shahed Ezaydi, Stylist'Soula Emmanuel is a phenomenal talent' Laura Kay'Searingly sharp, deliciously funny, profound' Danielle McLaughlinNew home, new name and newly thirty: Phoebe Forde has stepped into emigrant life in Copenhagen with her anxious dog, Dolly. Almost three years into her gender transition, she has learned to move through the world carefully, savouring small moments of joy. A woman without a past can be anyone she wants - that is, until an unexpected visit from Grace, her first love, brings memories of Dublin and a life she thought she'd left behind. Over the course of a single weekend, as their old romance kindles something sweet and radically unfamiliar, Grace helps Phoebe to navigate the jagged edges of migration, nostalgia and hope.'The must-read trans book of the summer' Pink News

Irish novelist Soula Emmanuel's debut novel is an intimate sprawl of memory, migration, and queer desire--charting the messy layers of love and loss that constitute a life. Phoebe Forde has a new home, a new name, and is newly thirty. An Irish transplant and PhD candidate, she's overeducated and underpaid, but finally settling into her new life in Copenhagen. Almost three years into her gender transition, Phoebe has learned to move through the world carefully, savoring small moments of joy. After all, a woman without a past can be anyone she wants. But an unexpected visit from her ex-girlfriend Grace brings back memories of Dublin and the life she thought she'd left behind. Over the course of a weekend, their romance rekindles into something sweet and radically unfamiliar as Grace helps Phoebe navigate the jagged edges of nostalgia and hope. Written with wit and warmth, Wild Geese is a tale of dislocations and relocations, encounters, and accidents: a novel of past lives, messy feelings, and the desire to start afresh.

Irish novelist Soula Emmanuel's debut novel is an intimate sprawl of memory, migration, and queer desire--charting the messy layers of love and loss that constitute a life. Phoebe Forde has a new home, a new name, and is newly thirty. An Irish transplant and PhD candidate, she's overeducated and underpaid, but finally settling into her new life in Copenhagen. Almost three years into her gender transition, Phoebe has learned to move through the world carefully, savoring small moments of joy. After all, a woman without a past can be anyone she wants. But an unexpected visit from her ex-girlfriend Grace brings back memories of Dublin and the life she thought she'd left behind. Over the course of a weekend, their romance rekindles into something sweet and radically unfamiliar as Grace helps Phoebe navigate the jagged edges of nostalgia and hope. Written with wit and warmth, Wild Geese is a tale of dislocations and relocations, encounters, and accidents: a novel of past lives, messy feelings, and the desire to start afresh.

'Wild Geese is proof that Soula is the most exciting new voice in Irish writing' Barry Pierce, i-D'Soula Emmanuel is a phenomenal talent' Laura Kay'Searingly sharp, deliciously funny, profound' Danielle McLaughlin'Destined to be a classic of migrant literature' Carmel Mc MahonNew home, new name and newly thirty: Phoebe Forde has stepped into emigrant life in Copenhagen with her anxious dog, Dolly. Almost three years into her gender transition, she has learned to move through the world carefully, savouring small moments of joy. A woman without a past can be anyone she wants - that is, until an unexpected visit from Grace, her first love, brings memories of Dublin and a life she thought she'd left behind. Over the course of a single weekend, as their old romance kindles something sweet and radically unfamiliar, Grace helps Phoebe to navigate the jagged edges of migration, nostalgia and hope.

Debut novelist Soula Emmanuel tells the story of Phoebe Forde, an Irish trans woman living in Scandinavia who unexpectedly reconnects with her first (and only) girlfriend, igniting memories she thought she'd left behind.