Transit Lounge acquires Gates novel

Transit Lounge has acquired world rights to The Phantom Surrealist by Geoffrey Gates.

According to the publisher, the novel follows protagonist Christopher Tiffen as he ‘moves between Sydney, London, Paris, Barcelona, and Hydra’ in search of an Australian artist who disappeared, last seen in Barcelona in 1937.

Based in Sydney, Gates worked on earlier iterations of the novel during a Varuna Residential Fellowship and as part of a doctorate from Western Sydney University.

Transit Lounge publisher Barry Scott said: ‘The Phantom Surrealist is a truly intriguing novel that at its heart captures the ways in which surrealism shook up the staid Australian art world and captured a generation of young radicals. It is also a novel that seamlessly crosses genres, combining elements of mystery fiction and a love story. I was hooked from the beginning.’

Gates said: ‘Australia has produced so many wonderful artists, and I am always interested in the ones who disappear from view, whose fame either does not come or doesn’t last. So, the idea of a lost artist, with a mystery aspect, appeals to me as a writer on a number of levels.’

Transit Lounge plans to release The Phantom Surrealist in September 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions