From Cypriot author Polis Loizou, A Good Year is a gripping folk-horror tale with LGBT+ themes set in 1920s rural Cyprus.
The twelve days of Christmas are beginning – the time when, according to local folklore, creatures known as kalikantzari come up from Hell to wreak havoc. Despo is heavily pregnant and deeply afraid of what the creatures may do to her unborn child. Meanwhile, her husband Loukas has troubles of his own. Struggling with dreams and desires he doesn’t understand, he finds himself grappling with his sexuality as he is irresistibly drawn to an Englishman, a newcomer to the island. In a village wreathed in superstition, Despo and Loukas must protect themselves and their unborn child from ominous forces at play.
A Good Year is publishing on 1st April 2022 as an addition to the popular Fairlight Moderns series of contemporary fiction from around the world.
The novel has already received praise from Lucy McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them, who praised Polis’ “beautifully paced, rich prose” which “conjures the heady sights, sounds and smells of Cyprus, while exposing the horror that resides in her superstitions and traditions.”
Polis Loizou is a novelist, playwright, filmmaker and performance storyteller. Born and raised in Cyprus, he moved to the UK in 2001. His debut novel Disbanded Kingdom was published by Cloud Lodge Books in 2018 and went on to be longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. His second novel, The Way it Breaks, was published in 2021.
Polis’ short stories and creative non-fiction have been published in various anthologies and literary journals. He was inspired by the Cypriot folklore of his childhood, particularly tales of the kalikantzari. As a bisexual author, his writing also contains important themes surrounding identity, acceptance, and the struggle faced by LGBT+ people who grow up being taught that their sexuality is wrong.
Having co-founded an award-winning theatre troupe, with which he has toured the UK festival circuit, Polis has delved deeper into the world of folk storytelling to perform a couple of acclaimed solo shows.
Polis currently lives in Nottingham with his husband and cats.
A Good Year is published by Fairlight Books. RRP: £7.99.