AYỌ̀ BÁMI ADÉBÁYỌ̀

Nigerian author Ayọ̀ bámi Adébáyọ̀ gained notoriety and acclaim with her debut novel Stay With Me, which won the 9 mobile prize for literature and was shortlisted for the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction, the Wellcome Book Prize, and The Kwani? Manuscript Project. Her recent novel, A Spell of Good Things, has been praised by the New York Times, Oprah Daily, and other notable news channels and authors including Chika Unigwe and Helon Habila. Ayọ̀ bámi’s work has been published in several countries and languages, and she presently lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

A Spell of Good Things

A fictional story set in modern Nigeria, A Spell of Good Things has been lauded as gripping and memorable. It follows the lives of two families whose lives become intertwined and caught in the grips of wealth, extreme poverty, romance, political corruption, and violence.

Back cover summary:“Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, dreaming of a big future.

Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician.

When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In her breathtaking second novel, Ayọ̀ bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.”

AMA ASANTEWA DIAKA

Ghanaian poet, storyteller, and spoken word artist, Ama Asantewa Diaka focuses her work on the topics of feminism, mental health, ecosystems, and inequality. A creator at her core, she’s also the founder of Tampered Press, Yobings, and Black Girls Glow. Tampered Press aims to create more platforms and visibility for Ghanaian and African visual artists and writers. Ama is also the author of You Too Will Know Me and she performs her spoken word as Poetra Asantewa.

Woman, Eat Me Whole

A collection of poetry, Woman, Eat Me Whole is moving and mesmerising, challenging, and complicated. Ama’s lyrical voice and intelligent verse invoke the reader to probe deeper and meditate longer on the issues that impact all of our lives.

Back cover summary: “Renowned for her storytelling and spoken-word artistry, Ama Asantewa Diaka is also an exultant, fierce, and visceral poet whose work leaves a lasting impact.

Touching on themes from perceptions of beauty to the betrayals of the body, from what it means to give consent to how we grapple with demons internal and external, Woman, Eat Me Whole is an entirely fresh and powerful look at womanhood and personhood in a shifting world. Moving between Ghana and the United States, Diaka probes those countries’ ever-changing cultural expectations and norms while investigating the dislocation and fragmentation of a body – and a mind – so often restless or ill at ease.

Vivid and bodily while also deeply cerebral, Woman, Eat Me Whole is a searing debut collection from a poet with an inimitable voice and vision.”

GOTHATAONE MOENG

Motswana author Gothataone Moeng is a former fiction fellow in the Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Mississippi, and currently lives in her birthplace of Serowe, Botswana. Gothataone’s work has been featured in places such as Ploughshares, A Public Space, and The Oxford American to name a few.

Call and Response

A collection of short stories, Call and Response follows the lives of everyday families in modern Botswana as they navigate relationships, tradition, and how rapidly changing times impact individuals and the family. The Kirkus Review hailed it “a lovely debut brimming with deeply felt and well-rounded stories,” and The New York Times declared that “Moeng’s stories pulsate with life and accumulate to build a full, rich world.”

Back cover summary: “A young widow adheres to the expectations of wearing mourning clothes for nearly a year, though she’s unsure what the traditions mean or whether she is ready to meet the world without their protection. An older sister returns home from a confusing time in America, only to explain at every turn why she’s left the land of opportunity. A younger sister hides her sexual exploits from her family, while her older brother openly flaunts his infidelity.

The stories collected in Call and Response are strongly anchored in place - in the village of Serowe, where the author is from, and in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana – charting the emotional journeys of women seeking love and opportunity beyond the barriers of custom and circumstance.

Gothataone Moeng is part of a new generation of writers coming out of Africa whose voices are ready to explode onto the literary scene. In the tradition of writers like Chimamanda Adiche and Jhumpa Lahiri, she offers us insight into communities, experiences and landscapes through stories that are cinematic in their sweep, with unforgettable female protagonists.”