Books

2026 Caine Prize Shortlist
Small Change: Intimacy and Economy on the 2026 Caine Prize Shortlist

What I keep returning to is that none of these five stories on the 2026…

Dawn is an Open Wound
The Ordinary Affair of Being Nigerian: A Review of Jide Badmus’ “Dawn is an Open Wound”

In Dawn is an Open Wound’s first section, the poet persona is a tourist, and…

Merit Gogo-fyneface
“Writing Is an Educational Tool to Showcase Complex, Unspoken Experiences”: An Interview With Merit Gogo-fyneface

“I wanted Church Girl and Other Short Stories to make readers feel seen. Many people…

Bestseller
Where Are Nigeria’s Established Bestseller Lists?

Publishers need to invest in education and literacy initiatives. The idea is that such an…

Contraband Bodies
Immigration is the Trafficking of Souls: A Review of Jide Salawu’s “Contraband Bodies”

Contraband Bodies challenges us to think about exile: that there is not much dignity in…

Deliverance
Merit Gogo-fyneface’s “Deliverance” Studies the Familiar Traumas of Misrepresenting Christian Exorcism

At its core, “Deliverance” studies the misrepresentations of Christian exorcism and the toll it takes…

Rootless
Maternal Disciple and Abandonment: A Review of “Rootless” by Krystle Zara Appiah

One of the greatest achievements of Rootless is the creative portrayal of silence as a…

Collective Amnesia
Applause Lines on Paper: Thoughts on Koleka Putuma’s “Collective Amnesia”

Collective Amnesia has the kind of reach that performance poetry often achieves—quotable lines, public arguments,…

While the World Slept
“While the World Slept” Review: A Tender, Uneven Portrait of Gay Life in Nigeria

It is hardly possible to cross the bridges of the stories in While the World…

War Girls
“War Girls” Review: Tochi Onyebuchi Reimagines the Nigerian Civil War Through Science Fiction

With War Girls, Onyebuchi has crafted not merely a conventional dystopian war epic, but an…