Saba Sams – författare

**A Sunday Times Paperback of the Year****A Granta Best of Young British Novelist****Winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2022****Winner of the BBC National Short Story Award 2022****Shortlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2023**SELECTED FOR STYLIST'S BOOKS YOU CAN'T MISS IN 2022 - 'A MUST READ''An exhilarating debut' GUARDIAN'A fresh new voice in fiction, wry and sharp and raw' EMMA CLINE'I liked the warm embodiedness of Send Nudes' ZADIE SMITH'I still remember where I was when I first encountered a Saba Sams story' NICOLE FLATTERY'I fell for this stunning collection with a rare, consuming passion' MEGAN NOLAN____________________________________________________________In ten dazzling stories, Saba Sams dives into the world of girlhood and immerses us in its contradictions and complexities: growing up too quickly, yet not quickly enough; taking possession of what one can, while being taken possession of; succumbing to societal pressure but also orchestrating that pressure. These young women are feral yet attentive, fierce yet vulnerable, exploited yet exploitative.Threading between clubs at closing time, pub toilets, drenched music festivals and beach holidays, these unforgettable short stories deftly chart the treacherous terrain of growing up – of intense friendships, of ambivalent mothers, of uneasily blended families, and of learning to truly live in your own body.With striking wit, originality and tenderness, Send Nudes celebrates the small victories in a world that tries to claim each young woman as its own._____________________________________________________________________'A roiling, raw, gut-punch of a debut collection, best read in one sitting ... I sat motionless for about half an hour after reading them; I can't wait to see what she writes next' PANDORA SYKES'A seriously impressive debut. Saba Sams digs into the chaos, euphoria and menace of sexual attraction, friendship and family with bravery and wit' CHRIS POWERCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE 2022 BY THE GUARDIAN, STYLIST, VOGUE, GLAMOUR, COSMOPOLITAN, EVENING STANDARD, IRISH INDEPENDENT, AnOTHER, FOYLES, BOOKSHOP.ORG

**Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize****Finalist for the Nota Bene Prize****Selected as a Book of the Summer 2025 by the Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times, independent.co.uk, Vogue and Marie Claire****Selected as a 2025 book to look out for by the Guardian, Sunday Times, Irish Times, independent.co.uk, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Service95**‘Raw, original and provoking, Saba Sams is Britain's brightest debut novelist’ Vogue‘An immersive story about love and the softening borders around what family can be’ Sheena Patel'A joy to read' The Times ‘An intimate and tender exploration of love's possibilities’ Sophie Mackintosh'Raw, powerful and beautiful' Observer‘A nuanced exploration of friendship, queerness and love’ Jessica Andrews‘I loved this’ Nicola DinanJules has been divorced from her ex-husband Leon for ­five years, but she still works alongside him at Gunk, the grotty student nightclub he owns in central Brighton. She spends her nights serving shots and watching, from behind the bar, as Leon flirts with students on the dancefloor.But then Leon hires nineteen-year-old Nim to work the bar – and her arrival jolts Jules awake for the ­ first time in years. When Nim discovers she’s pregnant, Jules agrees to help. As the months pass, and the relationship between the two women grows increasingly intimate and perplexing, it emerges that Nim has her own unexpected gifts to give.Now, alone in her small flat, Jules is holding a baby, just twenty-four hours old, who still smells of Nim. But no one knows where Nim is, or if she’s coming back. What could the future – for Jules, Nim, and this unnamed baby – possibly look like?Raw, exhilarating, tender and wise, Gunk is an electrifying debut novel exploring love and desire, safety and destruction, chaos and control – and family in all its forms.

**Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2026****Finalist for the Nota Bene Prize****Selected as a Book of the Summer 2025 by the Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times, independent.co.uk, Vogue and Marie Claire****Selected as a 2025 book to look out for by the Guardian, Sunday Times, Irish Times, independent.co.uk, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Service95**‘Raw, original and provoking, Saba Sams is Britain's brightest debut novelist’ Vogue‘An immersive story about love and the softening borders around what family can be’ Sheena Patel'A joy to read' The Times ‘An intimate and tender exploration of love's possibilities’ Sophie Mackintosh'Raw, powerful and beautiful' Observer‘A nuanced exploration of friendship, queerness and love’ Jessica Andrews‘I loved this’ Nicola DinanJules has been divorced from her ex-husband Leon for ­five years, but she still works alongside him at Gunk, the grotty student nightclub he owns in central Brighton. She spends her nights serving shots and watching, from behind the bar, as Leon flirts with students on the dancefloor.But then Leon hires nineteen-year-old Nim to work the bar – and her arrival jolts Jules awake for the ­ first time in years. When Nim discovers she’s pregnant, Jules agrees to help. As the months pass, and the relationship between the two women grows increasingly intimate and perplexing, it emerges that Nim has her own unexpected gifts to give.Now, alone in her small flat, Jules is holding a baby, just twenty-four hours old, who still smells of Nim. But no one knows where Nim is, or if she’s coming back. What could the future – for Jules, Nim, and this unnamed baby – possibly look like?Raw, exhilarating, tender and wise, Gunk is an electrifying debut novel exploring love and desire, safety and destruction, chaos and control – and family in all its forms.

**Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize****Finalist for the Nota Bene Prize****Selected as a Book of the Summer 2025 by the Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times, independent.co.uk, Vogue and Marie Claire****Selected as a 2025 book to look out for by the Guardian, Sunday Times, Irish Times, independent.co.uk, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Service95**‘Raw, original and provoking, Saba Sams is Britain's brightest debut novelist’ Vogue‘An immersive story about love and the softening borders around what family can be’ Sheena Patel'A joy to read' The Times ‘An intimate and tender exploration of love's possibilities’ Sophie Mackintosh'Raw, powerful and beautiful' Observer‘A nuanced exploration of friendship, queerness and love’ Jessica Andrews‘I loved this’ Nicola DinanJules has been divorced from her ex-husband Leon for ­five years, but she still works alongside him at Gunk, the grotty student nightclub he owns in central Brighton. She spends her nights serving shots and watching, from behind the bar, as Leon flirts with students on the dancefloor.But then Leon hires nineteen-year-old Nim to work the bar – and her arrival jolts Jules awake for the ­ first time in years. When Nim discovers she’s pregnant, Jules agrees to help. As the months pass, and the relationship between the two women grows increasingly intimate and perplexing, it emerges that Nim has her own unexpected gifts to give.Now, alone in her small flat, Jules is holding a baby, just twenty-four hours old, who still smells of Nim. But no one knows where Nim is, or if she’s coming back. What could the future – for Jules, Nim, and this unnamed baby – possibly look like?Raw, exhilarating, tender and wise, Gunk is an electrifying debut novel exploring love and desire, safety and destruction, chaos and control – and family in all its forms.