As part of ongoing commitment by Masobe Books \u2013 Nigeria\u2019s number one publishing house, to discovering and supporting outstanding literary work, We are pleased to formally announce the acquisition of the following extraordinary manuscripts from three uniquely talented writers. These are storytellers that are contributing to the shaping of the African literary space whilst garnering accolades at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
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Abubakar Adam Ibrahim<\/strong> When brooding artist, Yarima Lalo, encounters a moving train for the first time, two serendipitous events occur. First, it triggers memories of past lives in which he was twice murdered\u2014once on a train. He also meets Aziza, a woman with a complicated past of her own, who becomes key to helping him understand what he is experiencing. With a third death in his current life imminent, together they go hunting for remnants of his past lives. Will they find evidence that his mind is unravelling or discover lost loves and enemies from a forgotten past?<\/em><\/p>\n When We Were Fireflies has been critically appraised as:<\/p>\n \u201cA gripping, layered, passionate and haunting novel with tones of otherworldliness. \u00a0Abubakar\u2019s prose sparkles with poetry, wisdom and compassion. This is a complex and unforgettable story that will keep you up at night.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Bisi Adjapon, author of The Teller of Secrets.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA gorgeous novel, written in page after page of achingly beautiful prose. Ibrahim asks us to reckon with profound and urgent questions about grief, war, and memory. In the midst of all of this also rests a spellbinding tale of love and loss \u2013 and a reminder of the redemptive possibilities that exist when we are unafraid of tenderness and compassion.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA compelling narrative from one of the best writers of our generation. Abubakar Adam Ibrahim\u2019s imagination is as beautifully thrilling as his prose is exquisite.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Zukiswa Wanner, author of The Madams.<\/em><\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong> Ibrahim has won the BBC African Performance Prize and the ANA Plateau\/Amatu Braide Prize for Prose in 2014. He was selected for the Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature.<\/p>\n He won Africa\u2019s largest literary prize, The Nigerian Prize for Literature for his first novel, Season of Crimson Blossoms, in 2016.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ukamaka Olisakwe<\/strong> When the streams suddenly run dry in Ani Mmadu, the people know it is time to atone for a sin that goes back to the very beginning of their world; the consequence of one woman\u2019s rebellion against the all-powerful and unforgiving, jealous god. To avert this catastrophe and for the waters to flow and nourish the farms again, the people must send an Aja\u2014a child chosen by the Oracle\u2014into the Forest of Iniquity, to atone for that great Sin. It falls on young Adanne to save her people this time. But the Ajas sent into the dreaded forest tend never to return. Is Adanne the long-awaited one who will buck the trend and end her people\u2019s suffering?<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t Answer When They Call Your Name is an extraordinary novel bursting with kaleidoscopic worlds and beings. It is a feat of the imagination from a natural storyteller.<\/em><\/p>\n Ukamaka and her work have been critically appraised:<\/p>\n \u201cIn her latest novel, Ukamaka Olisakwe blends myths and magic to introduce readers to an enchanting, spectral world where a young girl and her dog must change the destiny of an ill-fated community. Olisakwe proves yet again that she delights in crafting stories as layered as an aged tree and finely textured as petals. This book is an adventure, a fantastic adventure for anyone seeking a thrill.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike, author of Wish Maker.<\/em><\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Obinna Udenwe<\/strong> Ordinary people find, and fashion themselves into and within far-from-ordinary situations In The Widow Who Died with Flowers in Her Mouth. A beautiful woman half-naked body is discovered to the shock of her community; but is the killer one of her wealthy suitors? A plumber is treated to an intense sexual experience by a woman with cash, curves, and killer moves\u2014but is she who he thinks she is? A young doctor reaches the edge of sanity after a forbidden entanglement with a married woman. A sexually promiscuous tailor\u2019s return to her father\u2019s house immediately sparks lust, jealousy, chaos, and violence.<\/em><\/p>\n The author and his work have been critically appraised:<\/p>\n \u201cObinna Udenwe has earned his place as one of Africa\u2019s emerging voices\u2014a talented and daring writer. His eye for detail and human emotions are sharp. This collection is a dazzling display. Pay attention to this writer\u2014he is telling us a lot about modern African life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Derek Workman, The Kalahari Review<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe stories in this collection cover a variety of subjects, yet all are united by a sense of frustration. Whether examining broader social and political frustrations or the more private and individual ones, Obinna Udenwe writes with a steady and unflinching focus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Karen Jennings, author of An Island, longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize<\/em><\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong> His short stories have won The Prairie Schooner-Glenna Luschei Prize 2020, The Short Story is Dead Prize 2016 and was a finalist in the Prairie Schooner-Raz Schumakar Prize 2020. His story It Has to do With Emilia was acquired for film & television in 2020 by Bridget Pickering at Bump films, shot in Yeoville, South Africa in 2021 and released as a motion picture in March 2022. His stories have appeared in Gutter Magazine, Prairie Schooner, Munyori Literary Journal, The Village Square Journal, Fiction 365, Brittle Paper, ANA Review, Ake Review, Expound Magazine, The Kalahari Review, The Short Story is Dead anthology Vol., 1 & 2, and many more.<\/p>\n He lives in Abakaliki in southern Nigeria where he works as a writer, engineer, and farmer, and is very active in local politics.<\/p>\n The books are scheduled for release in the first and second quarters of 2023. Specific publication dates and cover reveals will be announced in the coming weeks.\u00a0 For more information, please contact: Theresa Ominiabohs at 07018383286, email: info@masobebooks.com, follow us @Masobebooks on Instagram and Twitter, or visit the Masobe Books website at www.masobebooks.com<\/p>\n As part of ongoing commitment by Masobe Books \u2013 Nigeria\u2019s number one publishing house, to discovering and supporting outstanding literary work, We are pleased to formally announce the acquisition of the following extraordinary manuscripts from three uniquely talented writers. These are storytellers that are contributing to the shaping of the African literary space whilst garnering…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","thb-post-share-style1"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhen We Were Fireflies<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is Abubakar\u2019s fourth book and second novel; coming almost seven years after his NLNG win. It is a literary portrait about the intersection of love, loss and memory. Abubakar\u2019s skill and prowess as a writer with unparalleled imagination and a flair for the surreal within the ordinary is brought to bear with the scope and detail covered in this beautiful story.<\/p>\n
\nAbubakar Adam Ibrahim is a Nigerian creative writer and journalist. His debut short-story collection The Whispering Trees was longlisted for the inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2014, with the title story shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing.<\/p>\n
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\nUkamaka\u2019s sophomore novel and YA debut,\u00a0Don\u2019t Answer When They Call Your Name<\/strong>\u00a0is set in a fantasy multiverse rooted in Igbo mythology\u2014imagine The Hunger Games set in Ben Okri\u2019s The Famished Road. This is a story about an aja who decides that it is time to wrest power from a merciless deity.<\/p>\n
\nUkamaka Olisakwe was born in Kano, Nigeria, and now lives in Vermillion, SD. A UNESCO-World Book Capital \u201cAfrica 39\u201d honouree and a University of Iowa\u2019s International Writing Program Fellow, she is a winner of the VCFA Emerging Writer Scholarship; the SprinNg Women Authors Prize; a finalist for the Miles Morland Scholarship and the Brittle Paper Award for Creative Nonfiction, and runner-up for the Gerald Kraak Prize, among other honours. She is the founder of Isele Magazine and The Body Conversation.<\/p>\n
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\nIn\u00a0Obinna Udenwe\u2019s first collection of short stories,\u00a0The Widow Who Died with Flowers in Her Mouth<\/strong>, he opens a window into Nigerian life and gives readers an unvarnished look at the country and its people in all of their thrilling, titillating, and terrible glory.<\/p>\n
\nObinna Udenwe is a Nigerian novelist and short story writer. The winner of the first edition of The Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature 2021 for his second book, Colours of Hatred which was also a finalist for The NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature 2021. His first book, Satans & Shaitans won the ANA Prize for Prose Fiction 2015.<\/p>\n