Sophia Hadef on opening her own publishing company in Galway

By Charlotte Lavin

Sophia Hadef, French living in Galway, has opened Dubh Publishing after losing her job due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fascinated with dark literature and the gothic genre ever since she was a child, the 28-year-old French founder of Dubh Publishing moved to Galway two years ago. This new city that she quickly called her home opened a new world of possibilities for her. “I love Ireland, I moved here and fell in love with this dark and gorgeous country” she tells me. She founded her publishing house in May last year and has already received a lot of manuscripts. The name itself, Dubh Publishing, describes what she is looking for in her authors: a bit of dark (Dubh means “black” in Irish) and a lot of Ireland.

“I’d love to bring a new wave to the gothic movement”: Sophia Hadef on opening her own publishing company in Galway.

“Ireland has the best gothic writers, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, Oscar Wilde... so many talented authors that I read over and over”, she says, adding that when she receives manuscripts, she will have a special interest in stories that are set up in Ireland. Hadef says it made her confident that the Gothic literature had a bright future. “People love creepy stories but they love them even more when they have a class touch - not a horror feel in them. We all need to escape via stories, and violence is not what I’m looking for when I read a book.” She describes the gothic genre as dark and romantic, with a special kind of sensuality. “Imagine an old manor, a piano playing a sad, mysterious and bewitching song, tormented characters drowned in their melancholy, a cloudy sky and an autumnal garden, you have it, this is the gothic literature atmosphere.”

Dubh is going to publish its first book in the next few months. “Our first publication will be an old Irish tale revisited with Tolkien vibes. Its name is Cúchulainn of Eirú: Book I: The Isle of Shadows [by] Richard Roche and Derek Fennell.” Hadef says they are “fantastic writers” and is both excited and honoured to be able to publish their book, about the Celtic hero CúChulainn’s grapples with dark gods in a land reminiscent of mythical Ireland. The book will be available on demand in all formats, almost everywhere in Galway.

“I have so many other manuscripts/poems that I’m eager to publish, but I’ll be patient and see how it goes first. A step at a time.”

I have asked Sophia for her three recommendations of gothic novels, and I will leave you with her answer: “My three favourite books are Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, it’s so feminist, with a slight gothic ambiance, it’s about love, independence and strength of the soul. I also love Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, a gothic tale about a young woman who is bewitched by a strange girl in a castle. It’s beautifully sensual and full of darkness. And the third one is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Just the thought of Manderley makes me smile. The protagonist is haunted by the memory of her husband ex-wife who disappeared mysteriously. The decors are sublime, I highly recommend those three if you need some gloomy but delicious literary vibes.”

Find the article on Ethereal website: https://etherealmagazine.net/the-student

Published May 25, 2021.