The Delusions

Dr Jenni Fagan

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Hutchinson Heinemann
19 March 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Science fiction; Fiction: special features

The new novel from the prize-winning author of The Panopticon, Luckenbooth and Ootlin

The outstanding new novel from the prize-winning author of The Panopticon, Luckenbooth and Ootlin

'Brilliant, original, daring, a 1984 for the afterlife' Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting

'Wholly wondrous ... I'm improved for having read it' Niall Griffiths, author of Broken Ghosts

Edi is facing a disciplinary since her 'incident' at work. Forty-seven years in Admin processing the newly dead is not how she foresaw eternity.

In Arrivals, the newly dead must take the stages in order- first, extract delusion; second, answer HR's questionnaire truthfully. Yet who among them can truly face who they are? Who may never pass at all? As leaderboard numbers begin to rise at unprecedented rates, rumours begin to fly. Humans are about to become a banned race. The earth is going to be repossessed.

As chaos descends, Edi hopes this might finally be the moment she has waited for, so she might see her son again who she was forced to leave on Earth when she died. Edi wants to be the one waiting for him, even if HR protocols forbid it. Looking out at the millions of newly dead arriving, Edi has one question - what might any of us truly be willing to do for those we love at the doors of eternity?

Against a spectacular backdrop of stars, constellations and comets, a mass extinction event begins to unfurl watched by the entire universe as Processing, the largest soul terminus in existence, decides it is now time to take matters wholly back into its own hands. With reflections on love, defiance and light, The Delusions is a story of profound human connection, on an unprecedented scale.

Praise for Jenni Fagan

'Fagan's writing is poetic, high-octane, arresting' Sunday Times 'She writes unlike any other author of her generation' The Scotsman 'One of our most exceptional writers' Adelle Stripe

By: Dr Jenni Fagan
Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781529153095
ISBN 10: 1529153093
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 19 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jenni Fagan was born in Scotland. She won the Gordon Burn Prize for her memoir, Ootlin, which was also longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction. Her debut novel, The Panopticon, saw her selected as a Granta Best Young British Novelist, and her second novel, The Sunlight Pilgrims, gained her Scottish Author of the Year. Jenni has been listed for the Encore Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes, the Desmond Elliott Prize, the Sunday Times Short Story Award, and the Pushcart Prize. She is a Doctor of Philosophy, a member of Liberty, and a Royal Society of Literature Fellow. She lives in Edinburgh with her son.

Reviews for The Delusions

'Brilliant, original, daring, a 1984 for the afterlife and a fabulous satire. It really makes you think about what it means to be human.' - Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting 'What a tumultuous talent Jenni Fagan is. A despair with and a deep love for the human race drives this curious, unclassifiable and wholly wondrous story of functionaries caught up in a cosmic bureaucracy. Here is resilience, empathy, great humour, and an abiding pity for all life on Earth in all its fuss, muck, glory and terrible fragility. I am improved for having read it. The world is improved for including it.' - Niall Griffiths, author of Broken Ghost