Be(com)ing Nigerian: A Guide
₦2,000.00 – ₦6,000.00Nigeria Pub Date: 6th February 2019
UK Pub Date: July 2019
“The Nigerian god loves money. Because money answereth all things. You know how Nigeria is, things may be difficult, but they are always possible with money.”
In Be(com)ing Nigerian: A Guide, Elnathan John provides an affecting, unrestrained and satirical guide to the Nigerians you will meet at home and abroad, or on your way to hell and to heaven. A religious tells you It is a searing look at how power is abused, negotiated and performed in private and public; in politics, business, religious institutions and in homes. From the exploration of religious hypocrisy to inequality in matters of the heart, the collection is a jab at Nigerian society and what it means to be a Nigerian. Beyond poking fun at the holders of power, it is also a summons, a provocation and a call for introspection among all levels of society. As is often said in Nigeria, when you point with one finger, there are four others pointing back at you.
This engrossing read is a must-have for seasoned Nigerian-watchers and a uniquely informative guide for newcomers to Nigeria, with its tongue-in-cheek look at Nigeria’s relationship to itself and the world, both culturally and politically.
German Calendar, No December
₦2,800.00 – ₦7,500.00Olivia Evezi’s childhood is a happy one; her days are spent listening to highlife records and poring over colourful postcards from Germany. When she leaves her hometown of Warri behind to live out her Enid Blyton fantasies in a boarding school in Lagos, instead of adventure and lacrosse, she is met with punishments, endless chores and hazing rituals.
Olivia’s restlessness takes her to Germany, her mother’s homeland, where she is thrown into a hidden world of workers and migrants; a world of constant vigilance, where a piece of paper can hold the key to survival. Olivia finds that she is destined to always be an outsider – too white for Nigeria and too black for Germany – and so must learn to define herself and her place in the world beyond the labels that have been given to her: exotic, foreign, oyinbo.
German Calendar, No December is a candid and reflective coming of age tale about learning to navigate the world, with the help of good music, good books, good friends, and a touch of courage.
When Trouble Sleeps
₦2,400.00 – ₦6,500.00Amaka Mbadiwe returns in this gripping sequel to the award-winning Easy Motion Tourist, and trouble isn’t far behind her. The self-appointed saviour of Lagos’ sex workers, Amaka may have bitten off more than she can chew this time as she finds herself embroiled in a political scandal. When a plane crash kills the state gubernatorial candidate, the party picks a replacement who is assured of winning the election: Chief Ojo. But Amaka knows the skeletons that lurk in Chief Ojo’s closet, including what took place at the Harem, the secret sex club on the outskirts of Lagos that he frequents.
Amaka is the only person standing between Chief Ojo and election victory, and he sends hired guns Malik and Shehu after her. Caught in a game of survival, against a backdrop of corruption, violence, sex and sleaze, Amaka must find a way to outwit her bloodthirsty adversaries.
Leye Adenle pulls back the curtain on the seedy underbelly of Lagos once again in this gritty and compelling thriller.
Author: Leye Adenle | Print ISBN: 978-1911115632 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115649| Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 336 | Pub Date: 25th September 2018
She Called Me Woman
₦2,400.00 – ₦6,000.00“We decided to put together this collection of thirty narratives to correct the invisibility, the confusion, the caricaturising and the writing out of history.”
This stirring and intimate collection brings together 30 unique narratives to paint a vivid portrait of what it means to be a queer Nigerian woman. Covering an array of experiences – the joy and excitement of first love, the agony of lost love and betrayal, the sometimes-fraught relationship between sexuality and spirituality, addiction and suicide, childhood games and laughter – She Called Me Woman sheds light on how Nigerian queer women, despite their differences, attempt to build a life together in a climate of fear.
Through first-hand accounts, She Called Me Woman challenges us to rethink what it means to be a Nigerian ‘woman’, negotiating relationships, money, sexuality and freedom, identifying outside the gender binary, and the difficulties of achieving hopes and dreams under the constraints of societal expectations and legal terrorism.
She Called Me Woman is full of beautifully told stories of resistance and resilience, joy and laughter, heartbreaks and victories, collecting the realities of a community that will no longer be invisible.
Editors: Azeenarh Mohammed, Chitra Nagarajan and Rafeeat Aliyu | Print ISBN: 978-1911115595 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115601 | Format: Flapped paperback | No. of Pages: 344 | Pub. Date: 26th April 2018
The Carnivorous City
₦2,400.00 – ₦6,500.00Rabato Sabato aka Soni Dike is a Lagos big boy; a criminal turned grandee, with a beautiful wife, a sea-side mansion and a questionable fortune. Then one day he disappears and his car is found in a ditch, music blaring from the speakers.
Soni’s older brother, Abel Dike, a teacher, arrives in Lagos to look for his missing brother. Abel is rapidly sucked into the unforgiving Lagos maelstrom where he has to navigate encounters with a motley cast of common criminals, deal with policemen all intent on getting a piece of the pie, and contend with his growing attraction to his brother’s wife.
The Carnivorous City is a story about love, family and just desserts but it is above all a tale about Lagos and the people who make the city by the lagoon what it is.
Author : Toni Kan | Print ISBN: 978-1911115243 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115250 | Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 241 | Pub Date: 3rd October 2016
When We Speak of Nothing
₦2,000.00 – ₦6,000.00Best mates Karl and Abu are both 17 and live near Kings Cross. It’s 2011 and racial tensions are set to explode across London. Abu is infatuated with gorgeous classmate Nalini but dares not speak to her. Meanwhile, Karl is the target of the local ‘wannabe’ thugs just for being different.
When Karl finds out his father lives in Nigeria, he decides that Port Harcourt is the best place to escape the sound and fury of London, and connect with a Dad he’s never known.
Rejected on arrival, Karl befriends Nakale, an activist who wants to expose the ecocide in the Niger Delta to the world. Increasingly distant from happenings in London, Karl falls headlong for Nakale’s feisty cousin, Janoma.
Meanwhile, the murder of Mark Duggan triggers a full-scale riot in London. Abu finds himself caught up in its midst, leading to a tragedy that forces Karl to race back home.
When We Speak of Nothing launches a powerful new talent. The stream of consciousness prose, peppered with contemporary slang, captures what it means to be young, black and queer in London. If grime music were a novel, it would be this.
Author: Olumide Popoola | Print ISBN: 978-1911115458 (UK) | Print ISBN: 978-9785517712 (Nigeria) | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115465 | Format: Flapped paperback | No. of Pages: 256 | Pub. Date: UK: 3rd July 2017 | Pub. Date: Nigeria: 3rd August 2017
Princess Arabella and the Giant Cake
₦750.00A new title in the popular ‘Princess Arabella’ series. It is almost Granny’s birthday and Princess Arabella and her friends set out to bake the most DELICIOUS and most GIGANTIC cake in the entire world. But who will be the winner – Princess Arabella, Prince Mimoen, Princess Sophie or Princess Ling?
A delightful picture book for children aged 3+
Author: Mylo Freeman | Print ISBN: 978-1911115427 | Format: Picture Book | No. of Pages: 28 | Pub. Date: 26th April 2017
The Lazarus Effect
₦2,400.00Voinjama Johnson is an investigative journalist for the Cape Town magazine Urban. Her life is a mess and Vee’s been seeing things: a teenage girl in a red hat that goes hand-in-hand with the debilitating episodes she is loath to call ‘panic attacks’.
When Vee spots a photo of the girl from her hallucinations at a local hospital, she launches an investigation, under the pretext of writing an article about missing children. With the help of her oddball assistant Chloe Bishop, she’s soon delving into the secrets of the fractured Fourie and Paulsen families. What happened to Jacqui Paulsen, who left home two years ago and hasn’t been seen since?
The Lazarus Effect is a gripping new addition to the African crime genre from a talented debut author.
Author: H.J. Golakai | Print ISBN: 978-1911115083 | E-book ISBN: 978-1911115090 | Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 358 | Pub Date: May 2016
What Sunny Saw in the Flames
₦800.00 – ₦5,500.00What Sunny Saw in the Flames transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, thirteen-year-old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino. Her eyes are so sensitive to the sun that she has to wait until evening to play football. Apart from being good at the beautiful game, she has a special gift: she can see into the future. At school, she soon becomes part of a special quartet with unique powers. Together, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha explore this exciting realm of strange creatures and dark secrets. The good news is that in this world, your worst defect is actually your greatest asset. But there’s a catch. Someone is kidnapping children and maiming or killing them. The group is asked to help track down the criminal. Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames come to reality?
Nnedi Okorafor’s novel is an absorbing coming-of-age fantasy novel, ideal for young teenagers.
Author: Nnedi Okorafor | Print ISBN: 978-9785023855 | Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 229 | Pubication Date: November 2013
Longthroat Memoirs
₦4,000.00 – ₦5,000.00WINNER – JOHN AVERY AWARD, THE ANDRE SIMON FOOD & DRINK BOOK AWARDS 2016
“One of the most enduring myths on the Nigerian Femme Fatale – mammy-water, ‘winch’ or husband-snatcher – has to do with the cooking of fish stew … A woman can do what she likes with a man when she knows how to satisfy his appetite for food.”
Longthroat Memoirs presents a sumptuous menu of essays about Nigerian food, lovingly presented by the nation’s top epicurean writer. As well as a mouth-watering appraisal of the cultural politics and erotics of Nigerian cuisine, it is also a series of love letters to the Nigerian palate. From innovations in soup, fish as aphrodisiac and the powerful seductions of the yam, Longthroat Memoirs examines the complexities, the peculiarities, the meticulousness, and the tactility of Nigerian food.Nigeria has a strong culture of oral storytelling, of myth creation, of imaginative traversing of worlds. Longthroat Memoirs collates some of those stories into an irresistible soup-pot, expressed in the flawless love language of appetite and nourishment.
Author: Yemisi Aribisala | Print ISBN: 978-1911115267 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115274 | Format: Flapped Paperback | No of Pages: 405 | Pub Date: 10th October 2016
Highlife Giants
₦2,400.00 – ₦6,500.00‘Highlife is the only music in this country that has stood and will continue to stand the test of time.’ – Victor Olaiya
As West Africa’s oldest form of popular music, highlife was the soundtrack of the independence era. Its influence still resonates today.
Highlife Giants is an intimate portrait of the pioneering artistes of West Africa’s music scene from the 1920s onwards. It contains interviews with stars such as E.T Mensah, Kofo Ghanaba, King Bruce, Bobby Benson, Victor Uwaifo, and Ignace De Souza revealing priceless behind-the-scenes moments such as Louis Armstrong giving Eddie Okonta a trumpet with a golden mouthpiece after seeing him perform. Highlife Giants charts the development of this rich and varied popular form which is hugely influential on contemporary West African music from Afrobeat to hiplife.
Blending European and African-American styles with traditional African patterns, highlife music contributed to the development of post-independence national identity in both Ghana and Nigeria. As such, highlife remains crucial in generating social commentary, protest and contributing to the formation of a pan-African musical identity.
For those who lived through the era, Highlife Giants will be a compendium that invokes treasured memories. For their children and grandchildren, this book will inspire an interest in the rich musical history of West Africa
Author: John Collins | Print ISBN: 978-1911115298 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115304 | Format: Paperback | No. of Pages: 344 | Pub Date: 2016
Easy Motion Tourist
₦2,400.00 – ₦6,500.00Easy Motion Tourist is a compelling crime novel set in contemporary Lagos. It features Guy Collins, a British hack who stumbles into the murky underworld of the city. A woman’s mutilated body is discarded by the side of a club near one of the main hotels in Victoria Island. Collins is a bystander and is picked up by the police, as a potential suspect. After experiencing the unpleasant realities of a Nigerian police cell, he is rescued by Amaka, a Pam Grier-esque Blaxploitation heroine with a saintly streak. As Collins discovers more of the darker aspects of what makes Lagos tick – including the clandestine trade in organs – he also slowly falls for Amaka. Little do they realise just how much organ trafficking is wrapped up in the power and politics of the city. The novel features a motley cast of supporting characters, including a memorable duo of low-level Lagos gangsters: Knockout and Go-Slow. Easy Motion Tourist pulsates with the rhythms of Lagos and entertains from beginning to end.
A modern thriller featuring a strong female protagonist, prepared to take on the Nigerian criminal world on her own.
Author: Leye Adenle | Print ISBN: 978-1911115069 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115076| Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 332 | Pub Date: 1st April 2016
What Sunny Saw In The Flames
What Sunny Saw in the Flames transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, thirteen-year-old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino. Her eyes are so sensitive to the sun that she has to wait until evening to play football. Apart from being good at the beautiful game, she has a special gift: she can see into the future. At school, she soon becomes part of a special quartet with unique powers. Together, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha explore this exciting realm of strange creatures and dark secrets. The good news is that in this world, your worst defect is actually your greatest asset. But there’s a catch. Someone is kidnapping children and maiming or killing them. The group is asked to help track down the criminal. Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames come to reality?
Nnedi Okorafor’s novel is an absorbing coming-of-age fantasy novel, ideal for young teenagers.
Author: Nnedi Okorafor | Print ISBN: 978-1911115106 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115113 | Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 229 | Publication Date: July 2016
Princess Arabella Goes to School
₦3,000.00A delightful addition to the popular ‘Princess Arabella’ series. Princess Arabella and her friends embark upon their first day at Princess School. They find themselves taking some very unusual lessons – and when they are allowed to bring their pets to school, fun and games ensue!
An engaging and entertaining picture book for children aged 3+.
Author: Mylo Freeman | Print ISBN: 978-1911115410 | Format: Picture Book | No. of Pages: 28 | Pub. Date: 26th April 2017
Season Of Crimson Blossoms
₦2,400.00 – ₦3,000.00WINNER OF THE NLNG NIGERIA PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
An affair between 55-year-old widow Binta Zubairu and 25-year-old weed dealer Reza was bound to provoke condemnation in conservative Northern Nigeria. Brought together in unusual circumstances, Binta and Reza faced a need they could only satisfy in each other. Binta – previously reconciled with God – now yearns for intimacy after the sexual repression of her marriage, the pain of losing her first son and the privations of widowhood. Meanwhile, Reza’s heart lies empty and waiting to be filled due to the absence of a mother. The situation comes to a head when Binta’s wealthy son confronts Reza, with disastrous consequences. This story of love and longing – set against undercurrents of political violence – unfurls gently, revealing layers of emotion that defy age, class and religion.
GLOSSARY OF HAUSA/ARABIC WORDS AND PHRASES
Author: Abubakar Adam Ibrahim | Print ISBN: 978-1911115007 | E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115014 | Format: Flapped paperback | No. of Pages: 320| Pub. Date: May 2016
The Hidden Star
₦1,600.00 – ₦5,500.00Nolitye lives in a shack with her mother Thembi in Phola, a dusty township on the edge of Jo’burg. She is good at maths and likes collecting stones, which she places in a bucket under her bed. She also has unusual powers: she can communicate with dogs. Nolitye has two close friends, Bheki, who is overweight, and the bespectacled Four Eyes. The girls’ lives are made miserable by Rotten Nellie and her gang of Spoilers.
Author: K. Sello Duiker | Print ISBN: 978-1911115434| E-Book ISBN: 978-1911115441 | Format: Paperback | No of Pages: 210 | Publication Date: 7th November 2017
Princess Arabella Mixes Colours
₦1,500.00Princess Arabella thinks her room is boring. So she decides she’s going to do something about that – all by herself.She mixes up some paints and in no time at all her room looks fabulous.
The latest book about the popular little Princess Arabella, with fun information about mixing colours.
Author: Mylo Freeman | Print ISBN: 978-1911115120 | Format: Picture Book | No. of Pages: 28 | Pub. Date: April 2016