Faber is to publish Niven Govinden for the first time with his shimmering new literary novel, Prove.

Publishing director Angus Cargill acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Lisa Baker at Aitken Alexander. Prove will be published on 1 July 2027.

Topo buys a bakery in a small Sicilian town for €1. The shy young chef works through the nights and tries to ignore the initial suspicions of the locals to bring bread to a community he’s sure will come around, if they will only taste it. But Topo is haunted by the spectre of the town’s previous baker, as well as the fast-paced city life he left behind in Milan.

A beautiful, atmospheric read, with a hint of unease below the surface, Prove is a novel about the redemptive power of community, work and chosen family.

Cargill said:

‘This is such a gift of a novel, short, distinctive and deliciously alive with the sights and smells of Sicily. We can’t wait to get Topo’s story into the hands of readers.’

Niven Govinden, who studied at Goldsmiths, has twice been nominated for the Gordon Burn Prize, in 2019 and 2021. His most recent novel, Diary of a Film, was chosen as an Observer, Independent and Guardian’s ‘book to watch’ and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice pick.