Ferenji and other stories by Helena Mulkerns, is published by Doire Press, an award-winning literary publishing house in Galway, Ireland. This debut from the author is a themed short fiction collection set among civilians in conflict and post-conflict zones. From ancient Arabic, the term Ferenji means ‘foreigners’ and exists today in countries from Ethiopia to Vietnam. The author herself is a former journalist and UN peacekeeping veteran, who spent ten years ‘in the field’ as a press officer and photographer in Central America, Africa and Asia. See the Ferenji book trailer HERE.
Ferenji depicts life in the field — warts and all — with pathos, dark field humour and satire, lending a passionate civilian voice to the new genre of contemporary post-conflict literature.
In ‘A Child Called Peace’, two young Irish peacekeepers find a child dying in a minefield. In ‘Blood and Bone’ a war photographer is haunted by the image of a refugee. The title story, ‘Ferenji’ pits a lone aid worker against a bureaucratic system and ‘Operation Cat Lift’ is an allegory for our times.
“Dogs”, which explores how sexism can go beyond culture and borders, has been shortlisted for the Bórd Gais Irish Book Awards 2017, in the category of “Short Story of the Year”.
The author was a music and arts journalist in Paris and New York before working for the United Nations and has edited two literary anthologies, including Red Lamp Black Piano. Her work has been shortlisted for The Pushcart Prize, Hennessy New Irish Writing and The Francis MacManus Short Story Competition. She received a bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland to complete Ferenji.
For more information, please visit the author's website at: www.HelenaMulkerns.com
