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In this intriguing debut by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụwe are introduced to two young girls Ozoemena and Treasure, whose coming of age takes place in a boarding school in Nigeria. Their meeting is set against the backdrop of familial loss and tragedy.

We watch them try to navigate the realities of coming of age and into themselves in a society that doesn’t always give them space to do that.


Treasure has experienced the violence of patriarchy and the institutions which support it and has to make difficult decisions when approached by a dark spirit.

Ozoemena has to contend with a different spiritual identity when her uncle dies.


In this novel, filled with Igbo mythology and fascinating metaphysical occurrences, African oral histories are brought to the forefront.

We sat with Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ as we explored what it means to write a genre bending coming of age novel as a debut.

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This book begins with a curse put on the house of Zulu and her family, the Mhlongos, by Nandi Mhlongo, mother of Shaka ka Senzangakhona for the disrespect she endured from them.Weaving through the lives of three women living in different historical ages who in their own ways attempt to get restitution for Nandi.

Through the eyes of three female protagonists, each who experiences a different loss and heartbreak, Dr Mazibuko-Msimang explores African spirituality, disappointment and familial relationships.

This novel is an ode to the power of historical fiction, well-researched with a focus on some of the most important historical periods in South Africa. From the Frontier wars, Apartheid and Fees Must Fall, each of the protagonists reveal a powerful, feminist centred gaze.

Dr Mazibuko-Msimang sat down with us to discuss her debut novel. In this eye opening conversation, we discussed the themes of generational trauma, cellular memory, restorative justice and how those with no institutional power get justice.

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In this beautiful memoir, Safiya Sinclair writes about her childhood and adolescence in Jamaica with parents in the Rastafari faith. In an act of personal excavation, she brings forth the hidden histories of a people pushed to the margins by colonisation, oppression, and religious intolerance, all exacerbated by patriarchy.

Raised in difficult socio-economic conditions by a father who increasingly becomes more militant in his practice of Rastafari, Safiya and her siblings find refuge in her mother’s creativity and love for literature.

We are drawn to the discovery of Safiya as a scholar and poet while navigating her intimate relationship with her family, the first site of turmoil and conflict between the author and the people she loves. Truthful but graceful, we embark on the journey to humanise her parents in the face of the difficult upbringing that she has.

The beauty of Safiya’s writing is the tenderness with which she handles the contradictions of an upbringing that cuts its children’s joys and ambitions small but also finds love and joy in many of these moments.

All of this take place with the ever foreboding threat of Babylon, encroaching in their personal lives and their relationship with the outside world. We are struck by the ways in which even the most vehement opposers of Babylon, accede to its rules in the world of work and life – a metaphor for the ways in which people survive.

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner
A New York Times Notable Book
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
A Best Book of 2023 by the New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, Shelf Awareness, Goodreads, Esquire, The Atlantic, NPR, and Barack Obama
The 2024 OCM BOCAS PRIZE non-fiction winner
Shortlisted for the non-fiction prize for the women's prize.

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