Sea of Tranquility (preorder)

(preorder—to be published in Q3 2026)

Illustrations by Denis Sarazhin.

Published by Conversation Tree Press.

Note: There is a limit of one copy per edition per person/household.

Time, memory, and human connection ripple across centuries in Sea of Tranquility, a novel by Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel. Conversation Tree Press is honoured to present a letterpress-printed, signed, limited edition of this haunting and intricately woven novel of pandemics, temporal anomalies, and the fragile threads that connect us.

First published in 2022, Sea of Tranquility traverses continents and centuries—from a remote forest in 1912 British Columbia to a lunar colony in the 2400s—drawing seemingly disparate lives into a single, resonant narrative. At its heart is a mysterious anomaly in time, one that echoes through generations and offers a meditation on the nature of existence and the illusion of permanence.

Sea of Tranquility has been praised by The Guardian as “hugely ambitious in scope, yet also intimate and written with a graceful and beguiling fluency,” and as “one of Mandel’s finest novels” by The New York Times.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel is limited to 676 copies and is published in three states: Collector’s Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Lettered Edition.

A brief overview of the edition, with additional details below:

• Binding Design: The bindings of all three states were designed by Tony Geer.
• Artwork: Denis Sarazhin, in his first book-illustration project, has contributed ten original paintings to the edition.
• Typography: Interior design and typography are by Jason Dewinetz of Greenboathouse Press.
• Letterpress printing: Nomad Letterpress, in England, is printing the edition on these papers:
• Fedrigoni Arena Rough 120gsm - Collector’s Edition
• Magnani Pescia 130gsm - Deluxe Edition
• Binding: The bindings are being executed by Ludlow Bookbinders in England.
• Format: The books have a trim size of 170 × 240 mm (6.7 × 9.5 in) and 262 pages. All copies include a ribbon marker and head- and tailbands.

The Collector’s Edition:

The Collector’s Edition is limited to 400 unnumbered copies hand-bound by Ludlow Bookbinders.

It is bound in full cloth printed with an illustration by Denis Sarazhin, with the title foil stamped in metallic blue on the spine. The endpapers are Takeo Tant Select.

The text is letterpress printed on Fedrigoni Arena Rough 120gsm  (80lb) paper, and the full colour paintings are reproduced via offset printing and tipped in by hand as full bleed sheets.

Each copy is enclosed in a custom slipcase handmade by Ludlow Bookbinders, wrapped in yellow book cloth. The interior of the slipcase is lined with Suedel, a soft, flocked material that cushions and protects the book.

All copies are signed by Emily St. John Mandel and Denis Sarazhin.

Deluxe Edition:

The Deluxe Edition is limited to 250 hand-numbered copies and hand bound by Ludlow Bookbinders and designed by Tony Geer. The binding depicts a night sky dominated by the moon—home to the Time Institute—rendered at a scale that hints at the far-reaching consequences of its work.

It is bound in dark blue, full grain goatskin leather with extensive foil stamping in silver. The inlaid “moon” is made of cowhide leather from Conceria Walpier Tannery in Tuscany, Italy, which has a unique metallic swirl design with the non-metallic areas having a buffed nubuck feel.

The top edge is silver-gilded and the title is stamped in silver on the spine in a blind-stamped rectangular area devoid of stars.

The text is letterpress printed on upgraded Magnani Pescia 130gsm (~90lb) mould-made paper, and the full colour paintings are reproduced via offset printing and tipped in by hand as full bleed sheets.

Each copy is enclosed in a custom slipcase handmade by Ludlow Bookbinders. The sides are wrapped in cloth, the top is capped in the same leather as the moon, and the bottom is capped in the same leather as the night sky, sans stars. The interior of the slipcase is lined with Suedel, a soft, flocked material that cushions and protects the book.

All copies are signed by Emily St. John Mandel and Denis Sarazhin.

Artwork

Denis Sarazhin is a Ukranian contemporary artist who lives and works in New York City. His work focuses on the human figure and movement, often fractured to display several moments in time and place simultaneously. I’ve admired his work for some time and felt he was the perfect artist to bring Sea of Tranquility to life. We were thrilled when he accepted the commission, and the resulting artwork is every bit as breathtaking as we imagined.

Denis has contributed ten paintings to the edition, including one landscape piece that serves as the wraparound artwork for the Collector’s Edition. That piece will be tipped into the Deluxe and Lettered editions, ensuring all Editions of the book include all the artwork.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Denis Sarazhin’s practice explores the interplay between abstraction and suggestion. Rejecting literal narrative, his recent paintings emphasize delicate, open-ended forms that remain deliberately unresolved. This approach invites viewers to develop their own associative readings, balancing clarity and ambiguity through restrained gesture and shape. His work encourages contemplation of perception and the dynamic nature of interpretation.