2022 is shaping up to be The Year Of Akwaeke Emezi. They have already broken boundaries as an artist in their explorations with the metaphysics of Black spirit and their novels centring queer African narratives, which have been erased by our colonial history. Fans of Emezi’s masterful prose are on the edge of their seats as two book-toscreen adaptations are in the works and three books are set for release this year, one of which is the prequel to one of Emezi’s most imaginative works, Pet, a novel in which a young Black trans girl saves the day and doesn’t get hurt along the way. In 2021, Emezi was featured in TIME’s Next Generation Leaders, where they said: “The first step to creating a better world is being able to imagine it.”