Booker International-shortlisted author and translator Jen Calleja (Vehicle) and Women’s Prize-longlisted author Camilla Grudova (Children of Paradise) have praised Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking, the stunning forthcoming debut by Bridport Prize shortlistee Han Smith.

Calleja said reading the novel was “like being in a hall of mirrors where you think you’ve caught Smith’s eye but it’s just a reflection. When something slips into view between the glass, you get that uncanny feeling you’re staring back at yourself. A mysterious quest of excavation.”

While Grudova called Portraits: “A strange, intriguing and creepy tale from an exhilarating new voice in fiction”.

Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking is a story of seeing and part-seeing, of silence and speaking out, of conformation and confrontation…

Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking will be released in the UK on 20th June 2024. You can pre-order your copy here now.

Follow Han on Twitter @Han_Smiff.