Description

Written in the form of a letter, SEA PRAYER is a father's reflection as he watches over his sleeping son, on the dangerous journey across the sea that lies before them. It is also an account of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city's swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone. Originally produced in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Sea Prayer was first released as a Guardian virtual film on September 1, 2017.

SEA PRAYER will be illustrated by London-based artist Dan Williams, and will be published September 18, 2018, to mark the third anniversary of Kurdi's death. Riverhead will support publication with a major marketing and publicity campaign. The book will be published simultaneously by Penguin Canada and Bloomsbury in the UK.

Khaled Hosseini said: "We are living in the midst of a displacement crisis of enormous proportions. Sea Prayer is an attempt to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Alan Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution."