The Accidental Immigrants

Finalist for the 2025 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction

You're British and abroad and caught up in a far-right landslide. What happens when foreigners are targeted and it's already too late to get out?

What happens when you suddenly find yourself an unwanted foreigner?

Tess and Arlo have made a happy life on St Mira. But the island is not immune to the forces reshaping the world. When a far-right government surges to power, foreigners are their first target. It's time for Tess and Arlo to leave. But what if it's too late?

The Accidental Immigrants is political fiction based on the facts of the years since Brexit: the fallout from the referendum, the rise of the far right, and the increasing xenophobia towards people on the move. Set on an island that's a mirror image of Britain, it's both allegory and warning, and a poignant, prescient tale for our times about the dangers facing us all.

"In reading this incisive critque of anti-immigration politics we stare straight back at ourselves...This humane, sensitive novel is insidiously shocking; and it looks set to become even more politically relevant given recent electoral results in the UK, Europe and the US." - Orwell Prize for Political Fiction panel