Ore Agbaje-Williams, Editor at The Borough Press, has acquired UK & Commonwealth Rights (excluding Canada) for Adorah Nworah’s literary debut House Woman from Ben Fowler at Abner Stein, on behalf of Sharon Pelletier at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
House Woman tells the story of Divine, a young woman who is sent to the US from Nigeria to marry a man named Nna, and live with him and his parents. What begins as a simple transaction between families turns out to be something far more sinister; as a darkness emerges between herself and her new family, Divine is forced to reckon with whether she has what it takes to free herself once and for all.
House Woman will be published in the UK in spring 2023, and in the US by Unnamed Press in autumn 2022.
Adorah Nworah is a storyteller from Eastern Nigeria who also works as a lawyer. Her short stories have appeared in AFREADA and adda, and two of them, “The Bride” and “Broken English,” were shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize and longlisted for the 2018 Short Story Day Africa Prize, respectively.
Ore Agbaje-Williams said: “Every time I think about House Woman, I’m reminded of what an accomplishment it is. To be humorous, insightful, and very, very creepy with such an incredible narrative voice is truly a rare thing, and Adorah is a rare writer. I cannot wait for readers to discover what a unique, compulsive and brilliant read it is.”
Adorah Nworah said: “The most compelling horror stories hide in plain sight, and House Woman is my tribute to the art. It is boy meets girl with a twist. A portrait of two Nigerian families with a bond as deep and as twisted as their motivations. I’m extremely fortunate to have the guidance of Ore Agbaje-Williams on House Woman, and to be joining the Borough Press team!”
