Sirens

by Joseph Kertes

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Pub Date Sep 23 2026 | Archive Date Sep 30 2026

Literary Press Group of Canada | Stonehewer Books

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Description

Hiding in a coffin beneath barn floorboards, a sixteen-year-old Roma boy named Gabriel evades Bulgarian and German marauders in wartime Greece. Phoebe, a Greek girl his age, keeps him alive by bringing him provisions, and the two inevitably fall in love. Their union is opposed by her family—especially by her father, who works in the Greek underground resistance. Although they are caught in the violent currents of war and history, Gabriel and Phoebe remain enchanted by the small miracles around them and the possibilities of love and redemption. Sirens is Gabriel’s diary of his days in hiding and the weeks after. It is an indelible, deeply moving story of youth, love, and loss.

Hiding in a coffin beneath barn floorboards, a sixteen-year-old Roma boy named Gabriel evades Bulgarian and German marauders in wartime Greece. Phoebe, a Greek girl his age, keeps him alive by...

A Note From the Publisher

The author is available for interviews and hopes to appear at Ottawa and Calgary book festivals

Advance Praise

"What if Romeo and Juliet were set in Greece during the German occupation in the Second World War? Original and moving, Sirens looks into dark corners and examines the resilience of the human spirit. Kertes illuminates a chapter of history that echoes our own troubled times. Generous and human and masterful."—Don Gillmor, Winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award and author of Breaking and Entering

"Sirens is that rarest of gifts—a novel that holds the whole world. It brought home to me the glory of art, of being human, of love. It made me grateful I can read."—Alissa York, author of Far Cry

"The love story at the heart of this novel is all the more heartbreaking and beautiful because, at every turn, it seems doomed. Sirens is a love story for the ages."—Anna Porter, celebrated publisher and the award-winning author of 12 non-fiction and fiction books

Marketing Plan

--Book launch in Toronto September 23

--Invited to the 2026 Toronto International Festival of Authors

--Advertising in The Walrus

--Advertising in The Literary Review of Canada

--Advertising in Write magazine