Dirtpickers
21 May 2026Imprint: Manilla Press
Synopsis
'A magnificent novel' Belinda McKeon, author of Solace and Tender
'Truly unforgettable' Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry
'Little Maude Rowe sits in the crick, her pockets heavy with gold, the blood on her palms turned to powdered rust . . .'
In a remote valley in Idaho in 1981, a man, a woman and three children stop running to wash the blood from their hands and bodies. They are the few survivors of a terrible tragedy. Their only choice now is, somehow, to become a family.
Five years earlier, Opal and her husband James arrive in the small mining community of Silver Valley, drawn by promises of fortune and independence. There they meet Baron Rowe, the charismatic visionary who controls the community with an iron fist. Baron's son Denny has spent his life trying, and failing, to live up to Baron's expectations, and to protect his little sister Maude from their father's excesses.
Soon, a tragic accident will change all their lives. And five years later, change will come again at the barrel of a gun . . .
Dirtpickers is a heart-swelling beauty of a debut novel of love, trauma and found family from an incredible new literary talent.
A winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2024
'Truly unforgettable' Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry
'Little Maude Rowe sits in the crick, her pockets heavy with gold, the blood on her palms turned to powdered rust . . .'
In a remote valley in Idaho in 1981, a man, a woman and three children stop running to wash the blood from their hands and bodies. They are the few survivors of a terrible tragedy. Their only choice now is, somehow, to become a family.
Five years earlier, Opal and her husband James arrive in the small mining community of Silver Valley, drawn by promises of fortune and independence. There they meet Baron Rowe, the charismatic visionary who controls the community with an iron fist. Baron's son Denny has spent his life trying, and failing, to live up to Baron's expectations, and to protect his little sister Maude from their father's excesses.
Soon, a tragic accident will change all their lives. And five years later, change will come again at the barrel of a gun . . .
Dirtpickers is a heart-swelling beauty of a debut novel of love, trauma and found family from an incredible new literary talent.
A winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2024
Details
21 May 2026352 pages
9781786586636Imprint: Manilla Press
Reviews
Dirtpickers is a magnificent novel. Edie May Hand's gift for language and for exploring the complexities of what humans are capable of is stunning.Belinda McKeon, author of Solace and Tender
A sensational gift of a novel, laced with lyrical, evocative prose, with characters so vivid they live and breathe well beyond the page. A deeply human story of love, loss, trauma and resilience, a truly unforgettable read.Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry
A wrenching portrait of the precariousness of life, loss and how we love in the face of vulnerability. Edie May Hand captures life in her characters and livestreams them through the reader's emotions. I found myself, more than once, holding my breath awaiting fate. Dirtpickers is a moving novel rendered with vivid beauty.Charleen Hurtubise, author of The Polite Act of Drowning
