Join us for an evening in conversation with writer and translator Helen Stevenson, to celebrate Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix - shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Small Boat is a stark and haunting novel based on a real migrant tragedy that took place in November 2021, when an inflatable dinghy carrying more than 30 people capsized while crossing the Channel. Just two passengers survived; 27 lost their lives.
Told in three parts, Vincent Delecroixs spare, unflinching prose - powerfully translated by Helen Stevenson - forces readers to confront the quiet cruelty of bureaucracy, the fragility of human life, and the devastating cost of moral indifference. As the Booker judges described it, this is a gutpunch of a novel that asks: could we all do better?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Vincent Delecroix is a renowned philosopher and novelist. A graduate of the cole normale suprieure and agrg in philosophy, he teaches at the cole Pratique des Hautes tudes. His earlier novels - Ce qui est perdu and Tombeau dAchille - won the Prix Valry Larbaud and the Grand prix de lAcadmie franaise respectively. Small Boat (original title Naufrage ) is his first work translated into English.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR:
Helen Stevenson is an acclaimed literary translator and author, with over 25 years experience translating from French into English. A Modern Languages graduate from Oxford University, she has translated work by major French-language authors including Alain Mabanckou, Antoine Bello, and Marie Darrieussecq. In addition to her translation work, Stevenson is also a published novelist and memoirist, with titles including Mad Elaine and Love Like Salt . She spent much of her adult life in France, living in Cret and Cajarc, and now resides in Somerset.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
HopeRoad Publishing, now part of the Peepal Tree Press family, is known for championing powerful, previously untold stories from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean - many in translation for the first time. Founded in 2010 by Rosemarie Hudson and joined by Serpents Tail founder Pete Ayrton in 2019, the press explores themes of identity, injustice and cultural stereotyping. Its literary fiction imprint, Small Axes, published Small Boat in March 2025.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Join us for a powerful evening with Opt Indie Books and Helen Stevenson, celebrating Small Boat , its gripping themes of responsibility, migration, and moral reckoning. Well explore how fiction confronts real-world tragedy, the challenges of literary translation, and the wider implications of apathy and accountability in our societies.
Therell be time for audience questions and a book signing. Copies of Small Boat will be available to purchase on the night.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Small Boat is a stark and haunting novel based on a real migrant tragedy that took place in November 2021, when an inflatable dinghy carrying more than 30 people capsized while crossing the Channel. Just two passengers survived; 27 lost their lives.
Told in three parts, Vincent Delecroixs spare, unflinching prose - powerfully translated by Helen Stevenson - forces readers to confront the quiet cruelty of bureaucracy, the fragility of human life, and the devastating cost of moral indifference. As the Booker judges described it, this is a gutpunch of a novel that asks: could we all do better?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Vincent Delecroix is a renowned philosopher and novelist. A graduate of the cole normale suprieure and agrg in philosophy, he teaches at the cole Pratique des Hautes tudes. His earlier novels - Ce qui est perdu and Tombeau dAchille - won the Prix Valry Larbaud and the Grand prix de lAcadmie franaise respectively. Small Boat (original title Naufrage ) is his first work translated into English.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR:
Helen Stevenson is an acclaimed literary translator and author, with over 25 years experience translating from French into English. A Modern Languages graduate from Oxford University, she has translated work by major French-language authors including Alain Mabanckou, Antoine Bello, and Marie Darrieussecq. In addition to her translation work, Stevenson is also a published novelist and memoirist, with titles including Mad Elaine and Love Like Salt . She spent much of her adult life in France, living in Cret and Cajarc, and now resides in Somerset.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
HopeRoad Publishing, now part of the Peepal Tree Press family, is known for championing powerful, previously untold stories from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean - many in translation for the first time. Founded in 2010 by Rosemarie Hudson and joined by Serpents Tail founder Pete Ayrton in 2019, the press explores themes of identity, injustice and cultural stereotyping. Its literary fiction imprint, Small Axes, published Small Boat in March 2025.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Join us for a powerful evening with Opt Indie Books and Helen Stevenson, celebrating Small Boat , its gripping themes of responsibility, migration, and moral reckoning. Well explore how fiction confronts real-world tragedy, the challenges of literary translation, and the wider implications of apathy and accountability in our societies.
Therell be time for audience questions and a book signing. Copies of Small Boat will be available to purchase on the night.
Event Dates
| Date | Available Ticket Types | Ticket Price | Book Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
|
31st July 2025, 7:00pm |
|
| Book Now |
