The Expansion Project : Shortlisted for the Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction

Author: Pester, Ben

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 4 June 2026 by GRANTA BOOKS in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 224 pages
129 x 198 x 15 | 162g

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO PRIZE FOR DEBUT FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZEPlans for the expansion of the Capmeadow Business Park are in full swing - its mission is to become the greatest business park in the region. Tom Crowley, a mid-level employee, loses his daughter at 'bring your daughter to work day'. He raises the alarm, and his colleagues rush to help him find her. Eventually, after no sign of her is found, it transpires she was never there. And yet, as time goes on, Tom still cannot reconcile that she is really at home. Refusing to accept that she is safe, Tom continues to search for her in the maze of corridors and impossible multi-dimensional spaces that make up his place of work... Because Capmeadow is expanding in unexpected ways, a Liaison Officer becomes the central focus for complaints about how the expansion is impacting the lives of the employees - unexpected buildings, years-long business days, cursed farmers' markets, and corridors of the mind are draining the life from Tom and everyone he works with. Years pass, and Tom remains at the company, convinced he is in the presence of his now adult daughter. But has he judged it correctly? And can anything go back to the way it was??