Foreshore Signs Work by Acclaimed Brazilian Writer Állex Leilla

February 12, 2025

Foreshore Publishing has acquired Springtime in the Bones (Primavera nos ossos) by Állex Leilla, a controversial, poignant novel, originally written and published in Brazil and translated by Amanda Sarasien.

Foreshore Publishing will publish the novel in paperback in September 2025.

Springtime in the Bones is a poignant tale of unfulfilled love and vengeance. It follows Luísa, a successful partner at a leading advertising agency in Salvador, whose heart still belongs to her first love, Michel. Despite their five-year marriage and her lingering obsession, Michel has openly embraced his attraction to men, leaving Luísa caught between love and heartache. As the narrative unfolds, we delve into Luísa’s quest for revenge—driven by a traumatic past that the synopsis only hints at: she is a survivor of rape. The most compelling part of the story lies in her relentless pursuit of the men responsible for her trauma. Through meticulous planning and an unyielding desire for retribution, Luísa embarks on a journey that explores themes of empowerment, resilience, and the complexities of love.

Foreshore Publishing publisher-in-chief Phil M. Shirley said: ‘We are committed to growing a list of translated fiction, and we couldn’t have a more perfect start than Állex Leilla’s Springtime in the Bones. People want to read things that are pushing the boundaries. We can’t wait to make this incredibly powerful work an unforgettable publication.”

Amanda Sarasien is a writer and literary translator working from Portuguese and French. A recipient of a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship, her work has appeared in Electric Literature, The Common, Chicago Review of Books, and elsewhere. She is a founding member of the Third Coast Translators Collective (TCTC) and past co-chair of the PEN America Translation Committee, and lives in Chicago. She can be found at amandasarasien.com.

Állex Leilla (Alessandra Leila Borges Gomes Fernandes) was born in 1971, in Bom Jesus daLapa, Bahia, Brazil. Her first book, a story collection titled Urbanos, won the 1997 BRASKEM Prize, which the Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado awards to a debut author. Springtime in the Bones is her second novel, published as Primavera nos ossos in 2010, and funded by the Petrobras Cultural Program – the first of only two Northeastern writer to receive this prestigious grant. A professor of Portuguese literature at the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), Leilla is married to the poet João Filho, and currently resides in Salvador.