Longlisted for the 2025 Republic of Consciousness PrizeLonglisted for the 2025 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje PrizeWith echoes of Zora Neale Hurston and Clarice Lispector, Sulaiman Addonia turns from the broader immigration narrative of land and nations to look closely at the erotic and intimate lives of asylum seekers.Set around a foster home in Kilburn and in the squares of Bloomsbury where its protagonist Hannah sleeps, The Seers chronicles the first weeks of a young Eritrean refugee in London. As Hannah grapples with her own agency in a strange country, her sexual encounters become an unapologetic expression of self—a defiant cry against the endless bureaucracy of immigration.In a single, gripping, continuous paragraph, The Seers moves between past and present to paint a surreal and sensual portrait of a life being burned up in search of refuge. For Hannah, caught between worlds in the UK asylum system, the West is both saviour and abuser, seeking always to shape her, but never succeeding in suppressing her voice.“A provocative, multi-faceted gem. Full of fierce anti-colonial rage and subtle artistry, addressing what it means to be a migrant in today’s fractured Britain.”—2025 Republic of Consciousness Prize Judges’ Citation