Send Nudes

A Sunday Times Paperback of the Year
A Granta Best of Young British Novelist
Winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2022
Winner of the BBC National Short Story Award 2022
Shortlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2023
SELECTED FOR STYLIST'S BOOKS YOU CAN'T MISS IN 2022 - 'A MUST READ'

'An exhilarating debut' GUARDIAN
'A fresh new voice in fiction, wry and sharp and raw' EMMA CLINE
'I still remember where I was when I first encountered a Saba Sams story' NICOLE FLATTERY
'I fell for this stunning collection with a rare, consuming passion' MEGAN NOLAN

In ten dazzling stories, Saba Sams dives into the world of girlhood and immerses us in its contradictions and complexities: growing up too quickly, yet not quickly enough; taking possession of what one can, while being taken possession of; succumbing to societal pressure but also orchestrating that pressure. These young women are feral yet attentive, fierce yet vulnerable, exploited yet exploitative.

Threading between clubs at closing time, pub toilets, drenched music festivals and beach holidays, these unforgettable short stories deftly chart the treacherous terrain of growing up – of intense friendships, of ambivalent mothers, of uneasily blended families, and of learning to truly live in your own body.

With striking wit, originality and tenderness, Send Nudes celebrates the small victories in a world that tries to claim each young woman as its own.

'A roiling, raw, gut-punch of a debut collection, best read in one sitting ... I sat motionless for about half an hour after reading them; I can't wait to see what she writes next' PANDORA SYKES
'A seriously impressive debut. Saba Sams digs into the chaos, euphoria and menace of sexual attraction, friendship and family with bravery and wit' CHRIS POWER

CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE 2022 BY THE GUARDIAN, STYLIST, VOGUE, GLAMOUR, COSMOPOLITAN, EVENING STANDARD, IRISH INDEPENDENT, AnOTHER, FOYLES, BOOKSHOP.ORG