Open, Heaven

Two boys meet, everything changes: a thrillingly beautiful and transporting story of first love in the English countryside. The instant Irish Times bestseller.

‘An exquisite tale of first love’ Sarah Perry, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT

On the cusp of adulthood, James dreams of another life far away from his small village. As he contends with the expectations of his family, his burgeoning desire – an ache for autonomy, tenderness and sex – threatens to unravel his shy exterior.

Then he meets Luke. Unkempt and handsome, charismatic and impulsive, he has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on a nearby farm. Luke comes with a reputation for danger, but underneath his bravado lie anxieties and hopes of his own.

With the passing seasons, the two teenagers grow closer and the bond that emerges between them transforms their lives. James falls deeply for Luke, yet he is never sure of Luke’s true feelings. And as the end of summer nears, he has a choice to make – will he risk everything for the possibility of love?

‘It made my heart hurt in the best ways’ Helen Macdonald, author of H IS FOR HAWK

‘Heart-rending…sensuous and decadent’ Financial Times

‘Beautifully written, deeply felt’ Michael Magee, author of CLOSE TO HOME

Open, Heaven was an Irish top ten bestseller w/c 28 April 2025

Author Biography

Seán Hewitt was born in 1990. He is the author of two poetry collections, Tongues of Fire and Rapture’s Road, and a memoir, All Down Darkness Wide. He collaborated with the artist Luke Edward Hall on 300,000 Kisses: Tales of Queer Love from the Ancient World. Hewitt has received the Laurel Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. He lectures at Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.