Ibis - by Justin Haynes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE 2025 ART SEIDENBAUM AWARD FOR FIRST FICTION; WINNER OF THE 2026 PEN AMERICA OPEN BOOK AWARD; WINNER OF THE 2026 OCM BOCAS PRIZE FOR CARIBBEAN LITERATURE (FICTION); WINNER GEORGIA AUTHOR OF THE YEAR (FIRST NOVEL); SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE; SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING; FINALIST FOR THE 2026 ZORA AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION

A bold, witty, and magical cross-generational story of migration, superstition, and the search for family

New Felicity's bad luck goes back centuries. Shaped by slavery, rebellion, and repression, the small coastal village in Trinidad is now facing a crackdown by the government, just as its people have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old refugee from Venezuela. Meanwhile, scarlet ibis birds have mysteriously started appearing in town, and New Felicity's superstitious fisherman fear the worst, certain they've brought on bad luck by killing a local witch. Skittish that a reporter's story will bring down the wrath of the Ministry of National Security, the fishermen take things into their own hands.

Justin Haynes's widely acclaimed Ibis moves backward and forward in time, from the town's early days as a sugar plantation to Milagros's adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas. A novel of mothers and daughters, origins and becomings, Ibis is a moving exploration of the migrant crisis and the contemporary Caribbean.

Review Quotes

"Justin Haynes delivers an evocative coastal world where the tide and the sky have as much power as governments and borders. Ibis moves the reader through Caribbean history and nature, driven by a compelling ensemble, some looking for truth and some hiding it. Striking in its language and imagery, this debut comes alive with a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity."-- "RAVI HOWARD, award-winning author of Like Trees, Walking and Driving the King"

"Justin Haynes proves himself an absolute alchemist of fiction with his carefully crafted mixture of unexpected sources culled and combined to tell the story of a Venezuelan child refugee and the people of New Felicity in Ibis, a novel that expands our understanding of magical realism. Characters' journal entries and letters, and even the newspaper articles they read, come together to make a world where people recognize and respect the omen of the ibis and other occult occurrences. This is a stunning debut as witty as is it is rapturous."

-- "JERICHO BROWN, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Tradition"

"The writing in this book is simply stunning. Haynes has the ability to seamlessly bring together plots and characters and shift ideas with such precision and subtlety. By the time you finish this novel, you will feel as if you've lived in New Felicity for decades and truly understand generations of characters."

-- "DEBUTIFUL"

"This brave and expansive novel begins in Trinidad, soaring backward and forward in time, and across borders, to tell the painful story of human exploitation in the Caribbean . . . With a visionary's magic, Haynes illuminates the ghosts, dreams, and hallucinations the most vulnerable conjure to save themselves, the fruits of imagination their only relief from unbearable suffering."

-- "PARUL KAPUR, Georgia Author of the Year judge"

"Ibis took me to totally unexpected places. It's vivid, witty, and heartbreaking as it reckons with myths, migration, and found family. Long after I turned the last page, I'm still thinking of this novel's interrogation of the histories of Venezuela and the Caribbean. What shaped us? Who have we become? Who will we choose to be?"-- "BREANNE MC IVOR, author of The God of Good Looks"

"A fishing village plagued by ghosts and omens unites to protect a refugee girl in Justin Haynes's potent novel."-- "FOREWORD"

"Evoking the themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler, Haynes scales the heights of his ambition. This soaring work is not to be missed."-- "PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review"

"This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace. Haynes is a thrillingly original writer who writes about the thin veil between worlds with spectacular range and scope."-- "JENNY OFFILL, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather"

About the Author

Justin Haynes was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and later moved to Brooklyn, New York. Having earned his MFA from Notre Dame, he continued his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University. Justin lives in Atlanta and teaches English at Oglethorpe University.