On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong - Literary Fiction, Penguin Press 2019

A letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known.

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa - Literary Fiction, Bloomsbury 2010

Forcibly removed from the ancient village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulhejas are moved into the Jenin refugee camp.

The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa - Bloomsbury 2015

Violently pushed from their ancient farming village of Beit Daras, a Palestinian family tries to reconstitute itself in a refugee camp in Gaza.

Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys - Penguin Press 1934

An 18 year old West Indian girl comes to Britain and ends up working as a chorus girl. It is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown.

Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun - Arcadia Books 2006

Young Moroccans gather regularly in a seafront cafe to gaze at the lights on the Spanish coast glimmering in the distance. A young man called Azel is intent upon leaving one way or another. At the brink of despair he meets Miguel, a wealthy Spanish gallery-owner, who promises to take him to Barcelona if Azel will become his lover.

We Need New Names No by Violet Bulawayo - Reagan Arthur Books 2013

In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few.

The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer - Ecco 2007

In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, rare-gem dealer Isaac Amin is arrested, wrongly accused of being a spy. Terrified by his disappearance, his family must reconcile a new world of cruelty and chaos with the collapse of everything they have known.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri - Knopf 2008

Eight stories that take us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand as they enter the lives of sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers.

Out of It by Salma Dabbagh - Bloomsbury 2011

Gaza is being bombed. Rashid - a young, clever Palestinian - has been smoking grass on the roof watching it happen when he gets the email he has been desperate for: he's won a scholarship to London. Rashid's sister, Iman, frustrated by the atrocities and inaction around her, is beginning to take an interest in an Islamic resistance group. Sabri, their intellectual older brother, is working on a history of Palestine from his wheelchair while their mother pickles vegetables and feuds with the neighbours.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - Riverhead 2017

In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen - Grove Press 2017

From a young Vietnamese refugee who suffers profound culture shock when he comes to live with two gay men in San Francisco, to a woman whose husband is suffering from dementia and starts to confuse her for a former lover, to a girl living in Ho Chi Minh City whose older half-sister comes back from America having seemingly accomplished everything she never will, the stories are a captivating testament to the dreams and hardships of immigration.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko - Algonquin Books 2017

Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid and moving examination of borders and belonging. It’s the story of how one boy comes into his own when everything he’s loved has been taken away--and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of her past.

Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie - Knopf 2013

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

This Lovely City by Louise Hare - Harper Collins 2020

A novel about a Jamaican immigrant living in postwar London, This Lovely City shows that new arrivals have always been the prime suspects ― but that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.

Mr Loverman by Bernadine Everisto - Penguin Press 2013

Mr Loverman is a groundbreaking exploration of Britain's older Caribbean community, which explodes cultural myths and fallacies, and shows how deep and far-reaching the consequences of prejudice and fear can be. It is also a warm-hearted, funny and life-affirming story about a character as mischievous, cheeky and downright lovable as any you'll ever meet.

Day After Night by Anita Diamant - Scribner2010

Day After Night is based on the extraordinary true story of the October 1945 rescue of more than two hundred prisoners from the Atlit internment camp, a prison for "illegal" immigrants run by the British military near the Mediterranean coast south of Haifa.

The Internationals by Sarah May - Vintage2004

Set in a Macedonian refugee camp during the 1999 Kosovo crisis, The Internationals spans seventy-eight tense days from the commencement of NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia to the withdrawal of Serb forces from Northern Kosovo. As the spotlight of the world's media is turned on a small, landlocked country, an extraordinary cast of aid workers and diplomats finds itself becoming inextricably involved with refugees, advertising executives and an Albanian mayor in ways none of them expected.

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels - Bloomsbury2009

Jakob Beer is seven years old when he is rescued from the muddy ruins of a buried village in Nazi-occupied Poland. Of his family, he is the only one who has survived. Under the guidance of the Greek geologist Athos, Jakob must steel himself to excavate the horrors of his own history. A novel of astounding beauty and wisdom, Fugitive Pieces is a profound meditation on the resilience of the human spirit and love's ability to resurrect even the most damaged of hearts.

What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers - McSweeney's2006

An epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children —the so-called Lost Boys—was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges.

Threads: From the Refugee Crisis by Kate Evans - Verso 2017

A visual documentary of the Calais jungle. Weaving into the story hostile comments about the migrants from nativist politicians and Internet trolls, Threads addresses one of the most pressing issues of modern times making a compelling case, through intimate evidence, for compassionate treatment of refugees and the free movement of peoples.

The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safety as a Child Refugee by Gulwali Passarlay - Atlantic Books 2019

The boy who fled Afghanistan and endured a terrifying journey in the hands of people smugglers is now a young man intent on changing the world. His story is a deeply harrowing and incredibly inspiring tale of our times.

The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri - Catapult 2019

Nayeri offers a new understanding of refugee life, confronting dangers from the metaphor of the swarm to the notion of “good” immigrants. She calls attention to the harmful way in which Western governments privilege certain dangers over others.

The Displaced Viet by Thanh Nguyen - Abrams 2020

In The Displaced, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, himself a refugee, brings together a host of prominent refugee writers to explore and illuminate the refugee experience. Featuring original essays by a collection of writers from around the world, The Displaced is an indictment of closing our doors, and a powerful look at what it means to be forced to leave home and find a place of refuge.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya - Doubleday Canada 2018

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were "thunder." It was 1994, and in 100 days more than 800,000 people would be murdered in Rwanda and millions more displaced. Clemantine and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, ran and spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries searching for safety.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park - Penguin 2016

The story of Park's struggle to survive in North Korea and her harrowing escape to freedom.

Rescue by David Miliband - Simon Schuster 2017

Describing his family story and drawing revealing lessons from his life in politics, David Miliband shows that if we fail refugees, then we betray our own history, values, and interests. The message is simple: rescue refugees and we rescue ourselves.

Refugee Tales (vols 1, 2, ) Various authors, edited by David Herd and Anna Pincus - Comma Press 2016

Poets and novelists retell the stories of individuals who have direct experience of Britain’s policy of indefinite immigration detention. Presenting their accounts anonymously, as modern day counterparts to the pilgrims’ stories in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, this book offers rare, intimate glimpses into otherwise untold suffering.

The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe's Refugee Crisis by Ben Kingsley - Faber Publishing 2017

The Guardian's migration correspondent on why refugees are trying to reach Europe and how they do it.

Hostile Environment by Maya Goodfellow - Verso 2020

Examines the devastating human cost of anti-immigration politics and argues for an alternative.

Welcome to Britain by Colin Yeo - Biteback Publishing 2020

Immigration barrister Colin Yeo exposes the inequities of an immigration system that is unforgiving, unfeeling and ultimately failing.

Working With Asylum Seekers and Refugees by Sarah Crowther - Jessica Kingsley 2019

A hands on guide providing accessible, insightful advice for practitioners who find themselves working with asylum seekers and refugees.

Butterfly by Yusra Mardini - Pan MacMillan 2018

The inspiring story of how one woman saved fellow refugees from drowning and how she went on to become an Olympic swimmer.

We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai - Little, Brown 2019

In We Are Displaced, which is part memoir, part communal storytelling, Malala not only explores her own story, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her journeys - girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they've ever known.

The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla - Unbound 2016

Bringing together 21 exciting voices emerging in Britain today, The Good Immigrant explores why immigrants come to the UK, why they stay and what it means to be ‘other’ in a country that doesn’t seem to want you, doesn’t truly accept you – however many generations you’ve been here – but still needs you for its diversity monitoring forms.

No Friend but the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani - Picador 2018

In 2013, Boochani was illegally detained on Manus Island. His story was laboriously tapped out on a mobile phone and translated from the Farsi. It is a voice of witness, an act of survival. A lyric first-hand account. A cry of resistance. A vivid portrait through five years of incarceration and exile.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - Pantheon Books 2003

Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Free Press 2007

Raised in a strict family, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries ruled largely by despots. She escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Under constant threat, demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from family and clan, she refuses to be silenced.

From Outside In: Refugees and British Society edited by Nushin Arbabzadah - Arcadia Books 2007

A collection of memoir, fiction and poetry that explores being British from the perspective of the newly arrived.

Refugee Children in the UK by Jill Rutter - McGraw Hill 2006

Drawing on case studies of the experiences of refugee children, Refugee Children in the UK brings a much-needed insight into the needs of refugee children.

Key Concepts in Migration by David Bartram, Maritsa V. Poros, Pierre Monforte - Sage 2014

Provides explanations of the most important migration concepts as used in classrooms, among policymakers, and in popular and academic discourse.

To Sir With Love by E.R. Braithwaite - Jove 1959

The modern classic about a dedicated teacher in a tough London school who slowly and painfully breaks down the barriers of racial prejudice, this is the story of a man's integrity winning through against the odds.

A Hope More Powerful that the Sea: The Journey of Doaa Al Zamel by Melissa Fleming - Flatiron Books 2017

Doaa and her family leave war-torn Syria for Egypt where the climate is becoming politically unstable and increasingly dangerous. She meets and falls in love with Bassem, a former Free Syrian Army fighter and together they decide to leave behind the hardship and harassment they face in Egypt to flee for Europe, joining thousands of refugees making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded and run-down ships to seek asylum overseas and begin a new life.

Human Cargo: A Journey amoung Refugees by Caroline Moorehead - Picador 2006

Traveling for nearly two years and across four continents, Caroline Moorehead takes readers on a journey to understand why millions of people are forced to abandon their homes, possessions, and families in order to find a place where they may, quite literally, be allowed to live.