Frogs for Watchdogs is a quintessentially Irish debut, told in the unique voice of a wild boy with a ferocious imagination who will stop at nothing to protect his family from the darkness on the edges of their unstable rural life. Louise Kennedy has called it ‘a very special novel’, Una Mannion said it ‘felled me’ and Donal Ryan has called it ‘an ineluctable slide towards love . . . a stunning novel’. New Island hopes it will appeal to fans of Max Porter’s Lanny, the voice of Christine Dwyer Hickey’s Tatty and the cinematic vision of Lenny Abrahamson.

Already a seasoned literary editor, behind the scenes of some of the biggest Irish books in recent years, Farrell has worked with many writers including Nuala O’Connor, Kevin Curran, Estelle Birdy and Adrian Duncan. Farrell now steps into his own spotlight with a first novel that is dark, funny, tender and raw and thrums with the intensity of childhood. Booker Prize winner John Banville has described Frogs for Watchdogs as ‘an enthralling novel, and a remarkable imaginative feat – the narrative voice is wholly convincing, and utterly compelling. Seán Farrell is a magical writer, and his name is one to conjure with.’

The Best Boy in the World will be an entirely different experience for readers: a juicy, commercial novel about a London-based European family caught in a violent disintegration when two half-brothers, with very different ideas of what it means to be a man, go to war with each other. New Island hopes it will appeal to readers of Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss and Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap.

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On joining the New Island stable of writers, Seán Farrell says: ‘I’m very happy to be working with New Island, their attention to detail is extraordinary. They’ve given me rigorous editorial support and it’s a bonus to feel part of the production process as well. This level of engagement seems to be increasingly rare in the publishing industry these days; for me, it underlines the importance of independent publishing, not just for the reader, but for the writer as well.’

On behalf of New Island, Aoife K. Walsh said: ‘It’s rare that a literary talent like Seán Farrell’s comes to an Irish publisher so primed and ready to be published. There is something undeniable about Seán’s writing and we fell for it in the first sentences. Frogs for Watchdogs, as a love letter to the bewildering joy and wary safety of blended families, beautifully explores the profound bonds of love they can create. And The Best Boy in the World deftly tackles the catastrophic effects of the pursuit of an idea of manhood. We will absolutely relish bringing these two stories to readers over the coming years.’