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Anne Perry of Hodder & Stoughton has acquired three books by Nnedi Okorafor. The deal was negotiated by Okorafor’s foreign rights agent, Cameron McClure, at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. The official press release is here.
Lagoon, the first of her three books to be published by Hodder & Stoughton, is her second adult novel.
A little bit about Lagoon:
When a massive object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city, three people find themselves running a race against time to save the country they love and the world itself… from itself. Lagoon expertly juggles multiple points of view and crisscrossing narratives with prose that is at once propulsive and poetic, combining everything from superhero comics to Nigerian mythology to tie together a story about a city consuming itself.
At its heart a story about humanity at the crossroads between the past, present, and future, Lagoontouches on political and philosophical issues in the rich tradition of the very best science fiction, and ultimately asks us to consider the things that bind us together – and the things that make us human.
Cameron McClure says: "We are so excited to be working with Anne and Hodder & Stoughton. They understand the impact and originality of Nnedi’s work and will grow her readership."
Anne Perry says: "Nnedi’s work is some of the most intense, original science fiction I’ve ever read. With Lagoon, Nnedi demonstrates not just that she’s a force to be reckoned with, but that she deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as China Miéville, Pablo Bacigalupi and Lauren Beukes: authors writing staggeringly imaginative, socially aware speculative fiction for a new generation. I couldn't be more delighted that she has chosen to publish with Hodder & Stoughton."
Nnedi Okorafor is the award-winning author of multiple novels and short stories, including Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Best Novel Award), Akata Witch (an Amazon.com Best Book of the Year), The Shadow Speaker (winner of the Parallax Award) and Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature). Holding a PhD, two master's degrees and being a graduate of the Clarion Writer’s Workshop, Okorafor is now a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University and writes novels and short stories for all age groups.
Nnedi Okorafor is the award-winning author of multiple novels and short stories, including Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Best Novel Award), Akata Witch (an Amazon.com Best Book of the Year), The Shadow Speaker (winner of the Parallax Award) and Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature). Holding a PhD, two master's degrees and being a graduate of the Clarion Writer’s Workshop, Okorafor is now a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University and writes novels and short stories for all age groups.
Lagoonwill be published in March 2014.
Post-script: The word "lagos" means "lagoon" in Portuguese. ;-)
Post-post-script: Personally, I feel this is my most ambitious novel...and parts of it are funny as hell. My greatest inspirations for this novel: Under the Dome by Stephen King, Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o and, yes indeed, District 9.