From Marlon James, author of the Booker PrizewinningA Brief History of Seven Killings: a propulsive novel about the murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica and its tragic consequences

In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. The men are strangers to one another and each has a different reason for being involved. But they all share one inescapable truth: All of them are gaya battyman in Jamaican argotand all of them must contend with the dangers that such a truth lays bare.

One night a mob savagely attacks them, killing one of the men. For the survivors, their recovery is as much emotional as it is physical. As their bodies heal, each man grapples with the violence, the hatred, and the rage that the attack made plain. Some try to ignore what the attack has unearthed, while others double down on retribution.

InThe Disappearers, Marlon James has written a riveting and deeply human story of men forced to make compromises to survive what the society they live in demands. It is both a dramatic page-turner and an unflinching exploration of queer life in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s.

Marlon Jamesis the author of the Booker Prize-winningA Brief History of Seven Killings;the National Book Award finalistBlack Leopard, Red Wolf;theNew York Times-bestsellingMoon Witch, Spider King; The Book of Night Women;andJohn Crows Devil. In addition to the Booker Prize, his novels have won the American Book Award, theLos Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Born in Jamaica, James lives in New York City.

• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Publish Date: September 1, 2026
• Pages: 640
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9780593717202
• Dimensions: 9.3 X 6.1 X 1.6 inches | 1.9 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Literary Fiction