Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026. Winner of the São Paulo Literature Prize. From the author of the award-winning Of Cattle and Men.
In a remote corner of Brazil, life in a forgotten prison takes a sadistic, deadly turn. On land where enslaved people were once tortured and murdered, the state built a penal colony in the wilderness — where inmates could be rehabilitated, but never escape. Now, decades later, having only succeeded in trapping men rather than changing them, its operations are winding down.
But in the prison's waning days, the warden unleashes a new horror: every full-moon night the inmates are released, the guards are armed with rifles, and the hunt begins. Every man plans his escape, not knowing if his end will come at the hands of a familiar face — or from the unknown dangers beyond the walls.
Praise
“Through spare yet masterful prose, Ana Paula Maia renders a closed world thick with dread, brutality and moral decay… a stark, unsettling exploration of power, violence, destruction and institutional corruption.” — International Booker Prize 2026 judges
About the author
Ana Paula Maia (Nova Iguaçu, 1977) won the São Paulo Literature Prize for Best Novel of the Year two years running — in 2018 for this novel, and in 2019 for Bury Your Dead. Her Of Cattle and Men won the Republic of Consciousness Prize and the inaugural Cercador Prize. Translated by Padma Viswanathan.
Perfect for readers of
Cormac McCarthy, Fernanda Melchor's Hurricane Season, and the boldest of the International Booker list. At 112 pages, an evening's read that stays for years.
