Sea of Tranquility

By Emily St. John Mandel
Illustrated by Denis Sarazhin

“It’s shocking to wake up in one world and find yourself in another by nightfall, but the situation isn’t actually all that unusual. You wake up married, then your spouse dies over the course of the day; you wake in peacetime and by noon your country is at war; you wake in ignorance and by evening it’s clear that a pandemic is already here.”

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.

Edition Details

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 and enclosures 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 mould-made paper - Deluxe Edition
  • Somerset 160gsm mould-made paper - Lettered 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.
  

As with every Conversation Tree Press book, you can expect:
- All colour artwork reproduced in full colour across all editions.
- All artwork included in every state.
- A limited edition that will never be reprinted.
- A custom, handmade slipcase or other enclosure made of thick, sturdy boards with the insides lined in Suedel for maximum protection, at no additional cost.

Collector’s Edition

Availability:
1. Today, Monday December 1st at 10am ET: Collectors who have Deluxe/Lettered rights from their Tigana pre-order can now pre-order a Collector’s Edition along with their matching Deluxe/Lettered copy at this time if they wish. Links have been sent via email.
2. Wednesday December 3rd at 12pm ET: All remaining copies of the Collector’s Edition become available to the public on the Store page.

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.

US$285. Shipping is expected in Q3 2026.

Deluxe Edition

Availability:
1. Today, Monday December 1st at 10am ET: Email sent to collectors who have Deluxe rights from Tigana with a private link to pre-order a matching copy of Sea of Tranquility numbered from #1-200.
2. Wednesday December 3rd at 12pm ET: Unclaimed copies between #1-200, and copies #201-250 available to the public. Any available copies between #1-200 will be assigned first based on order time and will come with rights to our next release in February 2026.

The Deluxe Edition is limited to 250 hand-numbered copies, 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.

Copies #1-200 grant rights of first refusal to the next book from the Press, which will be available for pre-order in February 2026. That edition will only be published in Deluxe and Lettered states only.

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

US$765. Shipping is expected in Q3 2026.

 

Lettered Edition

Availability:
1. Today, Monday December 1st at 10am ET: Email sent to collectors who have Lettered rights from Tigana with a private link to pre-order a matching copy of Sea of Tranquility.
2. Wednesday December 3rd at 12pm ET: Unclaimed copies will be made available to the public.

The Lettered Edition is limited to 26 copies inscribed A to Z. It is hand bound by Ludlow Bookbinders. 

[Warning: spoilers ahead] Designed by Tony Geer, the binding visualises the book’s central temporal anomaly, in which distinct moments in time spread across centuries collapse and overlap. A series of foil-stamped circles mark four of the novel’s major timelines, drawn together and ultimately converging at the moon—represented by a mother-of-pearl inlay—the home of the Time Institute.

The book is bound in full Chevre Patnat goatskin leather from the renowned Alran S.A.S. tannery in France, founded in 1903. It is produced in a labour-intensive 23-step process over four weeks and has a rustic, natural grain with darker areas running through it creating a double-tone effect. The forest green is meant to evoke the forest in which Edwin St. John St. Andrew experiences the anomaly.

An important note about the Alran’s Chevre Patnat leather: It was chosen because it’s a beautiful material and the perfect conceptual fit for the edition. However, this is an artisanal leather with uncorrected grain, which means that small natural imperfections from bruises, wrinkles, grain variation, etc. from the skin of the animal may be visible. I believe these features enhance the book as a physical object, making each copy unique and a quiet testament to the history of the hide.

The top edge is silver-gilded and the we're reintroducing hand sewn headbands on our lettered books. 

The text is letterpress printed on upgraded Somerset Book 160gsm (~110lb) mould-made paper, and the full colour paintings are reproduced via offset printing and tipped in by hand as full bleed sheets.

The marbled endpapers are by Jemma Lewis.

The book is housed in a hand made, capped enclosure made of sturdy boards wrapped in a coated linen fabric that has a captivatingly beautiful glitter effect meant to evoke the beauty and vastness of space. Where the two halves of the enclosure meet, a circular piece of vellum from William Cowely in the UK marks the location of the moon on the book within. The title of the book is foil stamped on the Chevre Patnat leather and set inside of the spine of the enclosure.

All Lettered copies grant right of first refusal to the next book from the Press, which will be available for pre-order in February 2026. That edition will only be published in Deluxe and Lettered states.

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

US$2,395. Shipping is expected in Q3 2026.

Production Status

Production status is a new section we’re introducing as we announce the full edition details and begin accepting pre-orders. It allows collectors to see exactly how far along we are in the production process.

• Artwork - complete
• Prototypes - complete
• Typesetting - complete
• Proofreading - complete
• Plates for letterpress printing - complete
• Letterpress printing - next up.
  

 

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.

Typography

For the first time, the interior design of a Conversation Tree Press book is being fully entrusted to another designer—and not just anyone. I’m proud to be collaborating with fellow Canadian Jason Dewinetz, a fitting choice for a work by a Canadian author and someone whose work I’ve admired for some time.

Jason is a letterpress printer, type caster, and typographer from Vernon, BC. He is the proprietor of Greenboathouse Press, a current board member and past North American Chair of the Fine Press Book Association, and teaches publication design at Okanagan College. His design and production work for his own titles has brought in more than a dozen national book design awards, including multiple Alcuin Awards in the Limited Editions category.

Jason has set text in Umbra and Janson. The widely spaced Umbra caps reflect the novel’s 500-year scope across time and space, while their three-dimensional form echoes its multi-dimensional themes.

The digital Janson used for the main text is understated enough for extended reading, yet carries just enough character to match the more playful and sometimes prickly aspects of the novel. Its 17th-century proportions contrast with the geometric structure of Umbra—used nearby for chapter numbers—offering both historical and structural counterpoint.

Letterpress Printing by Nomad Letterpress

We’ll be collaborating once again with Pat Randle and Ellen Bills at Nomad Letterpress in Gloucestershire, England, who will be letterpress printing our limited edition of Sea of Tranquility. They have a long history of printing Matrix magazine, a book arts periodical, for Whittington Press; a number of Conversation Tree Press books; and their own editions.

Hand Binding by Ludlow Bookbinders

Ludlow Bookbinders, located in Shropshire, England have been keeping the craft of English bookbinding alive for generations. They’ve hand bound a number of Conversation Tree Press editions, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with them on Sea of Tranquility.

Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel is the author of six novels, most recently Sea of Tranquility, which has been translated into 25 languages and was selected by President Barack Obama as one of his favourite books of 2022. Her previous novels include The Glass Hotel, which was also on Obama’s list, was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and has been translated into 26 languages; and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honours, has been translated into 36 languages, and aired as a limited series on HBO Max. She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.