Wildfire Books signs Oana Aristide's ‘exceptional’ second novel

Wildfire Acquires Oana Aristide’s Second Novel, Astronaut! – A Darkly Satirical Tale Set in Communist Romania

Wildfire Books is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Astronaut!, the second novel by Oana Aristide, whose debut Under the Blue (Serpent’s Tail) was shortlisted for both the 2023 ASLE-UKI Book Prize and the Society of Authors’ McKitterick Prize.

Editorial Director Ella Gordon acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Sophie Scard at United Agents. The novel will be published on 19th March 2026, with US rights acquired by Matt Weiland at WW Norton.

Set in Communist Romania in 1989, Astronaut!  is described as both a detective novel and a coming-of-age story. Against a backdrop of rationing, surveillance, and state propaganda — including daily news flashes about a man-eating bear — the novel follows two unlikely protagonists: Constantin, an idealistic police detective investigating a series of grisly murders, and Lia, a rebellious schoolgirl drawn into her neighbour’s dangerous, subversive plot.

“Dryly satirical, incredibly tense and deeply moving,” the novel “explores themes of truth, power and resistance, delivering a timeless message: the lies we accept today become the truths of tomorrow,” says the publisher.

Raised in Transylvania until the fall of Communism, Aristide draws on her own experiences to create a dystopian yet authentic portrait of Ceaușescu’s dictatorship.

Ella Gordon said:

“I’ve been evangelical about this book since I first gulped it down on submission. It’s just exceptional: utterly unique, funny, heartbreaking, smart and weird. It also makes some pretty resonant points about the banality of evil, and the large and small acts of resistance that ordinary people risk everything to perform. Oana is also the coolest. Read it, please.”

Oana Aristide added:

“It’s taken me five years, but I’m delighted to have finished Astronaut! and to have found such a great home for it. To me, the novel is about our spirit — how we bend, or not, in the face of absurd collective pressures. I can’t wait to hear readers’ thoughts on it.”