The Anticipated Books of 2024

The most anticipated books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by African writers, selected by the staff of Open Country Mag.

Poetry

Winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, Tares Oburumu’s collection is a brief history of where he came from: Syma, a neglected oil-producing region of Nigeria. He examines single parenthood and how love defines family circles. Mixing music, religion, and political critique, it evokes pasts and futures. Read our profile of him. Preorder.

A bold, lyrical exploration of the Black female body, centered around the life of Sarah Baartman, the Hottentot Venus, who was exhibited in 19th-century Europe. It draws parallels with the author’s own journey as a Black woman raised in Ghana and returning to the UK. Preorder.

M. Nzadi Keita’s poetry collection explores Black history and identity in working-class Philadelphia from the 1960s to the present. Preorder.

Chosen for the 2023 Jake Adam York Prize by Amaud Jamaul Johnson, Besaydoo is a gracefully crafted ode celebrating the concept of home – encompassing place, people, body, and language. Kamara takes on the role of a griot. Buy.

This poetry collection explores the historical cycle of black people, particularly in Nigeria, addressing the enduring impact of forces that contributed to slavery and colonialism.

Nonfiction

Conducting interviews in over 30 African countries — with historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and local storytellers — Badawi uncovers hidden narratives, providing a comprehensive view of Africa’s role in the global story. Preorder.

This book explores the human impact of COVID-19. It emphasizes humanity, familial strength, hope, resilience, and collective efforts. Preorder.

This provocative book utilizes social commentary and critique to highlight how the patriarchy and cultural norms suppress the feminist spirit. Preorder.

From the bestselling author of So You Want to Talk About Race, an examination of education, media, labor, health, housing, policing, and endeavors for intersectional racial equity. Preorder.

The stories of seven older gay Black British men, spanning decades. It chronicles their struggles, political battles, and joyful celebrations, highlighting their resilience during the AIDS epidemic. Preorder.

Mbembe draws parallels between the architectural style and our current global situation: Afro-diasporic thought provides a unique perspective to counteract the totalizing influence of capitalism by fostering solidarity, repairing societal fractures, and nurturing a new planetary consciousness. Buy.

A searing biography of the short and harrowing life of Frantz Fanon, and a brilliant exploration of his ideas. Preorder.

A social history of British rap and grime by one of the nation’s foremost cultural chroniclers. Preorder.

Fiction

A young man seeks redemption in a country on fire. Obioma’s novel is an odyssey of love and courage set during the Biafran War. Preorder.

Aima and Kalu are a longtime couple who have just split. When Kalu visits an exclusive sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos. Ola and Souraya, two Nigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, collide into the scene. Sucked into the city’s corrupt and glittering underworld, they’re all looking for a way out. Preorder.

Bringing together a sequence of disquieting photographs with a dozen original short stories, this is another surprising new work from the singular mind of the Open Country Mag cover star. Preorder.

Following Zélie’s victory at the royal palace, she’s unexpectedly captured and taken far from her homeland on a ship by warriors, the Skulls. The true captor, King Baldyr, seeks to harness Zélie’s power, prompting her, Amari, and Tzain to seek allies in unfamiliar territories. Preorder

A fast-paced, tech-driven, metaphysical Cyberpunk third novel from Singh, with gritty storytelling in a speculative setting that spans across Johannesburg, New York, London, and Saudi Arabia. Preorder.

Damilare Kuku, who topped the inaugural The Rovingheights Best Seller List: Presented with Open Country Mag, brings her signature humor, boldness, and compassion to each member of this loveable but exasperating family, whose lives reveal the ways in which a woman’s physical appearance can dictate her life. Preorder.

In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding Otera dry, Deka must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, she is running out of time—to save herself and an empire that’s tearing itself apart at its seams. Preorder.

Banished to a Christian boarding school and utterly alienated from the people he loves, Obiefuna begins a journey of self-discovery and blossoming desire, while his mother Uzoamaka grapples to hold onto her favorite son, her truest friend. An elegant and moving story of love and loneliness. Preorder.

Determined to avoid the pain and instability of her parents’ turbulent, confusing marriage, Kokui marries a man far different from her loving, philandering, self-made father — and tries to be a different kind of wife from her mother. Preorder.

An adventurous, kaleidoscopic novel that considers the lines between illusion and delusion, fact and interpretation, and weighs the risks of attaching too firmly to the stories of a place, or a person, or a shared history. How much is a tale influenced by its reader, or vice versa? Preorder.

In Ani Mmadu, a village facing a water crisis due to an ancient sin, the people must send a child of Aja chosen by the Oracle into the Forest of Iniquity for atonement. Adanne, the chosen one, faces the daunting task of breaking the cycle of Ajas never returning from the dreaded forest. Read our profile of her. Preorder.

No one is more shocked than Malcolm Waters when his debut novel turns him into a critic’s darling. When he’s invited to a swanky penthouse party to discuss turning his book into a film, he knows rubbing elbows with the elites of entertainment will be great for his career. The only problem: he’s not good with people. Preorder.

A metaphysical murder mystery where the murder and the murderer cannot be ascertained or said to exist. The narrator’s journey is delicately interwoven with innumerable characters and stories from across time and place, on an existential search for the meaning of life. Preorder.

In the bustling world of a successful London lawyer named Ego, her achievements can’t overshadow the loneliness and sense of being an outsider. Seeking a connection to Nigeria, she immerses herself in a secret online life. Zina, aspiring to escape her true self, finds solace in acting at the expense of family ties. Meanwhile, Eriife transforms from a practicing doctor to a politician’s ideal wife. As Ego returns home, the lives of these three women intertwine amid Nigeria’s political turmoil. Preorder.

Recently divorced, a life coach whose phone won’t stop ringing, and ever the dutiful Nigerian daughter, Joy has planned every aspect of her mother’s 70th birthday when her mother dies suddenly. Desperate to believe that they’re about to witness a miracle, the family overhauls their birthday plans to welcome the Nigerian Canadian community, effectively spreading the word that Mama Mary is coming back. But skeptical Joy is struggling with not allowing herself to mourn just yet. Preorder.

When Tia accidentally overhears a conversation between her mother—terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria—and her aunt, the repercussions will send her on a desperate quest to uncover a secret her mother has been hiding for nearly two decades. Preorder.

Decades after the perilous rise of the Atlantic Ocean, survivors off the West African coast inhabit partially submerged towers, originally designed as a playground for the wealthy. Social hierarchy prevails with the affluent at the towering zenith and others confined to dark, submerged depths. Amidst this, three lives emerge: Yekini, a mid-level analyst; Tuoyo, a grieving undersea mechanic; and Ngozi, a self-centered bureaucrat. To forge a livable future for all, they must unite. Preorder.

A young adult mystery about Sade Hussein, a new girl at the prestigious Alfred Noble Academy, who discovers dark secrets when her roommate disappears without a trace. Preorder.

A 12-story collection that opens with a chilling tale in Lagos, exploring the eerie legacy of a woman resembling her malevolent grandmother. Set against a spectral cityscape, everyday events like childbirth and market visits carry an air of supernatural menace. Stories like “Breastmilk” and “24, Alhaji Williams Street” unfold with preternatural twists, while “The Hollow” introduces an architect stumbling upon a vengeful house. Aguda blends the ordinary with the supernatural. Preorder.

In Makoko, the floating slum off mainland Lagos, 19-year-old Baby yearns for an existence where she can escape the future her father has planned for her. She joins a newly launched drone-mapping project. When a video of her at work goes viral and Baby finds herself with options she could never have imagined, will life beyond the lagoon be everything she’s dreamed of? Pre-order.

Fa’iza Mohammed, raised to be an obedient daughter, experiences a life-altering shift when she goes to university in Canada. Ahmad Babangida, a rebellious first-born son of an ambassador, unexpectedly meets Fa’iza, triggering a powerful and indescribable connection. They strive to nurture their love within the confines of tradition. Preorder.

An immersive story of self-discovery, resilience, and the unifying power of love. It follows Nia, a queer, bi/pansexual naturopath in London, as her life unfolds across three pivotal moments, spanning from her 28th year to a life-altering realisation at the age of 50. At the heart of this gripping narrative lies Nia’s profound encounter with grief. Preorder.

After abandoning his once-promising career as a journalist for a new life in Paris, Mamush meets Hannah — a photographer whose way of seeing the world shows him the possibility of finding not only love but family. Now, five years later, with his marriage to Hannah on the verge of collapse, he returns to the close-knit immigrant Ethiopian community of Washington, DC, that defined his childhood. At its center is Mamush’s stoic, implacable mother, and Samuel, the larger-than-life father figure whose ceaseless charm and humor have always served as a cover for a harder, more troubling truth. Preorder.

Two incredible women are all that stands before an entire army. But they’ve fought against power before and won. This time, though, it’s no longer about rhetoric. This time it’s about magic and blood. Preorder.

Set in Cameroon, a country where being gay is punishable by law, this is a heart-wrenching love story between a Christian girl with a rebellious heart and a Muslim girl leading a double life. Preorder.

A coming-of-age novel following a young man as he reflects on childhood and adolescence: his dreams to play football, falling in love, heartbreaks, and grieving.

17-year-old Osi is a Junior Peacekeeper in the City. When the mysterious leader of the Cult, known only as the Aleke, commits a massacre in the capitol and steals the sacred God’s Eyes, Osi steps forward to valiantly defend his home.

A story of family, fate, religion, survival, the failures of the Nigerian class system, and what often happens to those who seek their fortunes elsewhere. Preorder.

A man in the Netherlands sends a message to a beautiful woman on Facebook. An unlikely connection grows between Jan, an engineer who lived alone in Geet, and Naomi, an only child who had been raised by her grandmother in Abuja — a unique love they believed could never be extinguished. Make enquiries here.

15-year-old Dimkpa dreams of a better life when his father’s village headship is denied. Determined to shape his destiny, he embarks on a journey to Lagos, and learns that money isn’t easily earned and that superstitions run deep. Preorder.

Set in a reimagined 15th century West Africa, an exploration of the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery. Preorder.

In spare prose, Jennings weaves a singularly powerful novel about post-apartheid South Africa. It is an unforgettable, propulsive story of fractured families, collective guilt, the ways we become trapped in prisons of our own making, and how we can begin to break free. Preorder.

In this collection of short fiction, Diaka creates a portrait of young Ghanaians in friendship, passion, hope, and heartache. They include men like Opoku Sr., straining under the burden of caring for his eight younger siblings and the child whose mother ran off. When his new girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant, he knows he has nothing left to give. Preorder.

Udonwa’s family is at war — a war of relationships, playing out under the tyranny of a monster dad. Her father, Reverend Leonard Ilechukwu, favors her but beats his wife and his other children. When her newly married eldest sister suddenly takes her from their family compound in Iruama to live with her in Awka, Udonwa experiences violence first-hand. Preorder.

Ever since she was a child, Anuri’s life was chronicled and monetized by her influencer stepmother. Now an adult, she’s finally broken free. But when her stepmother starts preying on her young half sister, Anuri decides she must stop the cycle of abuse. Preorder.

Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet — until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before. Preorder. ♦

Compiled by Iheoma Uzomba and Michael Chukwudera Chiedoziem.

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