A Saltwater Requiem

by Danny Ramadan

Inspired by the fact that around 150 Arabic names appeared on the passenger manifest of the Titanic, this sweeping historical novel follows a Syrian immigrant family meeting their fates both on and off the storied ship. Elias is the golden son of Tanios, patriarch of an affluent Christian family in the village of Saidnaya. But their good fortune takes a turn when Elias is forcibly conscripted by the Ottoman army the morning after his extravagant wedding to the town beauty. As Ottoman occupation draws closer, they're left with no choice but to abandon their beloved homeland for the possibility of a better life in America. Throughout their fraught voyage--with stops in Beirut, Marseille, and eventually Southampton--tensions, secrets, and agendas bubble up from below the surface. Matriarch Nazira desperately clings to the family's waning status, while eldest daughter Mariam fights for autonomy from her mother's rigid expectations. Youngest son Joseph meets a dashing man and gets swept up in London's publishing scene. Trusted maid Sawsan tries to salvage her dignity amid an illicit affair. Who will get left behind, and who will careen forward--and which outcome will leave them in better stead? Blending folklore and intergenerational memory, and with great affection for its female and queer characters, A Saltwater Requiem is a sprawling multi-perspective novel that takes a piece of popular history and makes it new again, centering a non-white story aboard the "unsinkable" ship to conjure a moving and universal tale of belonging.

Genres: Historical Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 6, 2027

About the author

Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author and public speaker. He was named a Scholar by Library and Archives Canada. His memoir Crooked Teeth (2024) received rave reviews and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction, the BC and Yukon Book Prize, and the City of Vancouver Book Award.

Ramadan’s novels include The Foghorn Echoes, which won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction and was nominated for the BC & Yukon Book Prizes and the City of Vancouver Book Award, and his debut, The Clothesline Swing, which won the Independent Publisher Book Award for LGBT Fiction, was longlisted for Canada Reads, and has been translated into multiple languages. His upcoming novel, A Saltwater Requiem, will be published in the US and Canada in April 2027.

Alongside his adult fiction and memoir, Ramadan is the author of the celebrated Salma children’s series, which has earned the Nautilus Book Award, the Publishing Triangle Award, the Middle East Book Award, and several other international accolades.

Beyond his books, Ramadan is deeply committed to community work. Since arriving in Canada as a refugee, he has raised over $300,000 to support LGBTQ+ refugees. He lives in Vancouver with his husband and their two beloved dogs, and spends his free time playing video games with questionable skill.