The Forest Called You

Name: The Forest Called You
Price: 34.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781787305434

Amil, Joheun Lee

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

Korean

Harvill
09 June 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Science fiction; Fiction in translation; Virtual reality

A love letter to K-pop, and a queer coming-of-age romance between an idol and her fan, about staying true to our passions in an increasingly artificial world

In a future Korea, the world has been ravaged by dust clouds and the deadly Akanta virus. Rather than live in their nightmarish present, people slip on virtual reality headsets to indulge in simulations of the past.

Eighteen-year-old Soop - stigmatised by her brush with Akanta, which causes VR Rejection - is bullied at school for having to live solely in the real world. Her only solace comes from the K-pop music she listens to on repeat. When Soop comes face to face with her idol, Yichae, whose new music video is being filmed at Soop's high school, she hopes this might be her chance at real connection.

But Yichae has her own troubles. She is one of the few remaining 'real' human idols, forced to live up to unattainable beauty standards while being celebrated for her supposed authenticity.

The Forest Called You is a love letter to K-pop, romance and high school politics - a novel about staying true to our passions and loving ourselves and each other in an increasingly artificial world.

By: Amil
Translated by: Joheun Lee
Imprint: Harvill
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9781787305434
ISBN 10: 1787305430
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 09 June 2026
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Amil (Author) Amil is a South Korean writer and translator. She has won numerous awards for her short stories, including the SF Award in the Short-Mid Novel category for 'Roadkill' and the SF Award Grand Prize for 'Rabbi', both of which feature in her debut story collection in English, Roadkill. Amil has translated works by authors including James Baldwin, Joyce Carol Oates, Jeanette Winterson, R. O. Kwon and Lucas Rijneveld into Korean. Joheun Lee (Translator) Joheun Lee is a Korean-to-English literary translator from Korea, drawn to stories of desire, relationships and identity by women and queer writers. Her translations include Lee Heejoo's Holy Boy and Amil's short story 'A Butch's Review of a Sex Robot'. She lives in Shanghai with her partner and four cats.