The Goldsmiths Prize was founded in 2013 to reward fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. The annual prize is awarded to a book that is deemed genuinely novel and which embodies the spirit of invention that characterizes the genre at its best.

Sarah Ladipo Manyika commented:

“I am thrilled to be nominated for this exciting prize and delighted to be in the company of such fabulous writers. Thanks to my publishers for believing that my unconventional short novel (with its oh-so-long title) would find its readers.”

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, co-founder and director of Cassava Republic Press, said:

“Being a Goldsmiths’ graduate myself, I couldn’t be more thrilled that Sarah’s wonderful novel has been shortlisted for this award, which celebrates qualities of ‘creative daring’ associated with the University. When we opened our London office earlier this year one of our aims was to challenge the preconceptions and boundaries of the British literary establishment, so to have an author shortlisted for this prize in particular feels very special to us.”

The winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced on 9^th November.

About the book

Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is a mesmerising meditation on ageing, friendship and loss. It is a humorous, subtle and engaging novel, featuring a fantastically feisty and memorable protagonist, Dr. Morayo Da Silva. On the cusp of seventy-five, Morayo is in good health and makes the most of it, enjoying road trips in her vintage Porsche, until she has a fall and her independence crumbles. This is a novel about everyday chance encounters, about lovers and literature, diplomats and shopkeepers, carers and companions. It is both an ode to San Francisco and a glimpse into the ever-changing Nigeria of Dr. Morayo’s youth.

Praise for Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun

“Dr. Morayo Da Silva is one of the most memorable characters you are likely to encounter on the page – intelligent, indomitable, author and survivor of a large life. In dreamlike prose, Manyika dips in and out of her present, her past, in a story that argues always for generosity, for connection, for a vigorous and joyful endurance.”

– Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, shortlisted for 2014 Man Booker Prize

“If aging be a lamp, then Morayo, the protagonist in Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is a mesmerising glow. Astute, sensual, funny, and moving.”

– NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New Names, shortlisted for 2013 Man Booker Prize

“Wise, tender and beautifully voiced, Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is a storytelling triumph.”

– Lavanya Sankaran, author of The Red Carpet

“Sarah Manikya’s Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is the rare sort of book that, from the instant you pick it up, you know that you will privy to the most intimate secrets. A beautiful, important new novel, and one that will continue to echo in a reader’s mind for a long time after.”

– Peter Orner, author of Love and Shame and Love

About the author

Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and has taught literature at San Francisco State University. Sarah’s first novel, In Dependence, was published by Legend Press (London) and Cassava Republic Press (Abuja). Sarah sits on the boards of Hedgebrook and San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora and was the Chair of Judges for the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2015. Sarah is host of OZY’s video series, Write.

About the Publisher

Cassava Republic Press is a dynamic African publishing company with a clear mission – to change the way the world thinks about African writing. With an eclectic list of quality literary fiction, crime, romance, young adult fiction and children’s books, Cassava Republic aims to spotlight the vibrancy and diversity of prose by African writers on the continent and in the Diaspora. Founded in Abuja, Nigeria in 2006, Cassava Republic has a proven record of discovering and developing the careers of some of Africa’s most exciting contemporary writers, such as Teju Cole and Helon Habila, and a reputation for publishing high quality fiction and non-fiction for adults and children alike.

From Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s mesmerising Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, Elnathan John’s critically-acclaimed coming-of-age novel Born on a Tuesday and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s Season of Crimson Blossoms, a controversial and gripping story of an affair between a devout Muslim grandmother and a 25-year-old drug dealer and political thug; to the Lagos-based pulsating crime novel Easy Motion Tourist (Leye Adenle) – Cassava Republic’s list represents an exciting new body of African literature linking writers across different times and spaces and genres.

For further information please contact:

Nigeria:            Emma Shercliff: emma.shercliff@cassavarepublic.biz or 0706 449 4192

UK:                  Sue Foster: susan.foster@cassavarepublic.biz or 07710 381063