FLY ON THE WALL PRESS ACQUIRES MARTA MICHALOWSKA’S COMPASSIONATE DEBUT NOVEL ‘A PHOTOGRAPH IS NOT A STORY’

Fly on the Wall Press has acquired worldwide rights to the politically charged and tender debut, ‘A Photograph is not a Story’, by Marta Michalowska!

'A Photograph is not a Story' follows Sophie, a London-based film archivist and war photographer, as she seeks meaning in the death of her Polish long-distance truck driver father, Zygmunt.

When photograph archives fall short of the answers she seeks and avoiding the past is no longer an option, she embarks on a road trip to Lviv in Ukraine / formerly Lwów in Poland, in a ghostly parallel to the journey made by her grandmother, Antonia during World War 2. This is a story of migration and of borders that reshape much more than political geography. What lies beyond the photographic frame?

Marta Michalowska said: ‘I am delighted to be working with Fly on the Wall Press on publishing my debut novel, ‘A Photograph is not a Story’, which is set within the contested borderlands between Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. Across a series of journeys, the novel explores what it means to be set in motion by the choices of those at the tables of power and the inability to find stillness, and to put down roots.’

Isabelle Kenyon, Managing Director of Fly on the Wall Press, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Marta, whose debut novel speaks to the migration issues of today and mirrors them in those of the past. As readers, we gain much more than a connection with Sophie (and an understanding of the relationship between Sophie and her father, and their respective mental health struggles), but also context into past and present tensions within central and eastern Europe – and we also gain a sense of empathy, which comes with this understanding. This is a novel which encourages the reader to delve deep into their own relationships with their respective parents, understand their history, and what it may mean for their sense of identity.’ 

‘A Photograph Is Not A Story’ will be released on the 16^th of September 2027.

About Marta Michalowska

Marta Michalowska an artist, writer, curator and producer based in London and the Ardèche. Her practice is in dialogue with places, especially those with complex and contested past or present. Her writing has been previously published in Strings, Migrant Journal and Litro, as well as in collections 'Interior Realms', 'Concrete and Ink: Storytelling and the Future of Architecture', and 'A Love Affair'. She is currently writing her second novel under the working title 'Drowning'. She is also working on a book-length essay 'Edgewater', weaving together diaries, travel writing, nature writing, art criticism, memoir, archival materials and photography to create a layered portrait of the Bug River, flowing between Poland, Belarus and Ukraine – the last major unregulated river in Europe and a questionable line of division between the West and the East – once an unintended nature reserve, now a militarised fault line. Alongside her creative practice, she runs The Wapping Project, a London-based yet nomadic arts organisation producing new works across film, installation, photography, performance and literature.

For Press, advanced copies and events: sales@flyonthewallpress.co.uk