December 2017 the WRITERS’ RETREAT INDU BALACHANDRAN

New Titles July - December 2017 THE WRITERS’ RETREAT INDU BALACHANDRAN

ISBN: 978-1-909762-51-0 eISBN: 978-1-909762-52-7 JULY 2017 Romance Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 300 pp Price: £7.99 Rights: World, excl. Indian subcontinent

Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ayisha Malik. Together, they embark on an unforgettable adventure to finally discover their true selves and ‘A sparky, modern and glamorous romantic story!’ find love in impossibly romantic Santorini. Sareeta Domingo, author of The Nearness of You INDU BALACHANDRAN had a 30-year career in Young Amby Balan has had enough with the 9 to 5 advertising, growing from copy-trainee to Executive life at Citibank. Throwing caution to the wind, she Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson. She quits her job and becomes a Twitter-writer for Krish switched to travel writing, and has published Kumaar, the hunky new Kollywood superstar. articles in Travel Plus, The Lonely Planet, iDiva, The But despite her new exciting job (and having the Sunday Times and reviewed seventy eco-friendly opportunity to ogle her gorgeous boss all day long), destinations all over India for Travel To Care. Amby still craves finally being able to fulfil her dream of becoming a writer. Indu’s writings have featured in five anthologies of short stories. She lives in Chennai and writes humour She comes across an ad for a writers’ workshop in columns for the Sunday Hindu, and prize-winning Greece and cannot pack her bags soon enough. contest slogans for ecstatic relatives. She also On the way to Santorini, she meets Mini Cherian, a fantasizes about doing stand-up comedy at staid best-selling children’s books author who fantasises Tam Brahm weddings. about writing erotic novels, and Bobby Varma, who left behind the advertising world to become a travel writer.

4 New Autumn Fiction OF MURDER, MUSES AND ME CLAUDIA CHIBICI-REVNEANU

ISBN: 978-1-909762-39-8 eISBN: 978-1-909762-40-4 SEPTEMBER 2017 Crime, literary fiction Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 280 pp Price: £8.99 Rights: World

Quirky crime for fans of Colin Bateman’s With her sanity now in question, Rosalind is even ‘Mystery Man’ series more determined to uncover the truth behind Drubenheimer’s death regardless of the dramatic ‘Delightful’ Lois Lavrisa, author of Homicide by Hamlet consequences.

When bestselling author Mark Drubenheimer Of Murder, Muses and Me is a sharp and witty debut is found dead in his studio, Rosalind Waterloo’s by a promising talent. world collapses. The official story is that the author committed suicide, but for his devoted fan, there is CLAUDIA CHIBICI-REVNEANU is a geographically only one explanation: Drubenheimer was murdered, confused Austrian, who currently works as a lecturer and Rosalind is the only person who can expose at the National Autonomous University of Mexico the killer. (UNAM) in León, Mexico.

The young woman takes her investigation to London She has published poems, literary essays, and to the heart of the publishing industry where translations and academic articles in different she encounters an intriguing cast of characters; an international magazines such as Celeste, Schreibkraft, eccentric editor, a modest muse, a wounded widow olasciviles and The International Journal of Cultural and a mesmerising mystery man. Policy Studies. In 2000, she won the Austrian award for women writers, Minna Kautsky.

New Autumn Fiction 5 RADIO SUNRISE ANIETIE ISONG

ISBN: 978-1-909762-37-4 eISBN: 978-1-909762-38-1 JANUARY 2017 Political Satire, Literary Fiction Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 160 pp Price: £8.99 Rights: World

‘What is left when there is no hope and everything is Radio Sunrise paints a satirical portrait of (post) for sale? Isong weaves a profoundly personal story of post-colonial Nigeria that builds on the legacy of the contemporary Nigeria even while dealing with broader great African satirist tradition of Ngugi Wa Thiongo societal and cultural issues.’ Chika Unigwe, author of and Ayi Kwei Armah. Black Messiah and Night Dancer ANIETIE ISONG started his career as a journalist ‘Never cover an assignment without collecting a brown with Radio Nigeria, in Lagos. His short stories have envelope,’ Boniface had said. ‘It is a real life saver for all been published in journals and broadcast on the journalists in this country.’ BBC and Radio Nigeria. He won several awards, including the Commonwealth Short Story Award in Ifiok, a young journalist working for the government 2000 and was a finalist of the Remember Oluwale radio station in Lagos, aspires to always do the right Writing Prize in 2016. thing but the odds seem to be stacked against him. Government pressures cause the funding to his radio Anietie lives in Dubai and is currently completing drama to get cut off, his girlfriend leaves him when a PhD in Media/ Creative Writing at De Montfort she discovers he is having an affair with an intern, University, Leicester. Radio Sunrise is his first novel. and kidnappings and militancy are on the rise in the country. When Ifiok travels to his hometown to do a documentary on some ex-militants’ apparent redemption, a tragi-comic series of events will make him realise he is unable to swim against the tide.

12 New Fiction SWIMMING WITH FISHES RASHEDA ASHANTI MALCOLM

ISBN: 978-1-909762-45-9 eISBN: 978-1-909762-46-6 MAY 2017 Romance Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 328 pp Price: £7.99 Rights: World

‘I dream you last night.’ Mother Cynthy’s smile, like her But secrets remain untold between them: Kat eyes, courted mischief. ‘Dream you were swimming with is suffering from a chronic illness and Ben has a fishes. This can mean only one thing…’ secret life back home. Will their love survive those revelations, and will Ben be the man to make Kat’s The Meadows, Jamaica dream come true? Or will their relationship amount to no more than a romantic encounter under the Beautiful young Kat Lewis, artist and daughter of bright Jamaican sun? the community, has always wanted a child. She is overjoyed when Mother Cynthy, the town herbalist, RASHEDA ASHANTI MALCOLM is a writer, a sees Kat swimming with fishes in a dream, a vision playwright and the founder of Candace that can only mean one thing: Kat will soon be a Magazine, aimed at women of colour. Her initiative mother. was rewarded by many prizes, including the Black Business Woman of the Year, the National Black Tall, handsome Thornton “Ben” Benjamin, a Women Achievement Award and, more recently, the successful Londoner in the real estate business, is on Pandora Award for Publishing. a business trip to The Meadows when he spots Kat on the beach. A mysterious energy draws him to her and Rasheda’s first novel was a runner-up in the Saga despite the warning signs in his head, he is unable to Literary Prize. She initiated the Candace Black resist. Throwing caution and better judgement to the Women Achievement Award, and WILDE wind, he pursues her and their initial friendship soon International Network. She currently teaches develops into a passionate romance. Creative Writing in London.

New Fiction 15 MURDER IN MONTEGO BAY PAULA LENNON

ISBN: 978-1-909762-41-1 eISBN: 978-1-909762-42-8 JUNE 2017 Crime Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 296 pp Price: £8.99 Rights: World

‘A veritable blockbuster of a crime novel!’ Peter Kalu, PAULA LENNON was born in England to Jamaican author of Yard Dogs parents, the sixth child and only girl amongst five boys. She lived in Jamaica during her teens In Montego Bay, Jamaica, privileged Chinese- and attended college in Chapelton, Clarendon. Jamaican brothers Lester and Carter Chin Ellis Back in England, Paula worked for many years as have enjoyed a sheltered life as the heirs to the a commercial lawyer in London, before deciding iced desserts empire Chinchillerz. One fateful to live where the weather was more conducive to night, following a fiery encounter with local law smiling. She currently resides in Jamaica, where she enforcement the brothers are taken to Pelican Walk is always actively plotting, writing, and admiring Police Station, where Lester is detained for drunk the Caribbean Sea. Murder in Montego Bay is her first driving, while Carter is released without charge. novel. Within minutes of leaving the station Carter is shot dead in a drive-by.

Discredited Detective Raythan Preddy is put in charge of the murder case and is forced to accept the assistance of Detective Sean Harris, a Scottish lawman seconded to Jamaica. With his superiors watching his every move and the Chin Ellis family interfering with the investigation, Preddy is determined to catch the killer and save his career.

16 New Fiction BEST SELLERS AND AWARD WINNERS

978-1-909762-29-9 978-1-909762-31-2 £8.99 £7.99

BETTY JHALAK TRASK PRIZE AWARD SHORTLIST WINNER

MAN BOOKER SHORTLIST

AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4

978-1-909762-43-5 978-1-909762-22-0 £9.99 £8.99

Jacaranda 17 THE BOOK OF HARLAN BERNICE L. MCFADDEN

ISBN: 978-1-909762-43-5 eISBN: 978-1-909762-44-2 OCTOBER 2016 Historical fiction Binding: Demy paperback Extent: 400 pp Price: £9.99 Rights: World, excl. North America & the Caribbean

‘. . . a fascinating exploration of the beauty of the Buchenwald—the notorious concentration camp in Harlem Renaissance, the jazz scene of 1930s Paris and Weimar, Germany—irreparably changing the course the horror of what black people experienced in the Nazi of Harlan’s life. holocaust.’ Samira Ahmed, BBC Radio 4, Front Row Based on exhaustive research and told in ‘This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit McFadden’s mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan over bigotry, intolerance and cruelty.’ Washington Post skillfully blends the stories of McFadden’s familial ancestors with those of real and imagined The Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of characters. Harlan’s parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather BERNICE L. MCFADDEN is the author of nine dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, The he eventually becomes a professional musician. Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Times Editors’ Choice and one of the 100 Notable Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular Books of 2012), Glorious, which was featured in O, cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre— The Oprah Magazine and was a finalist for the NAACP affectionately referred to as “The Harlem of Paris” Image Award. She is a three-time Hurston/Wright by black American musicians—Harlan jumps at the Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him. three awards from the BCALA (The Black Caucus of the American Library Association). McFadden lives in But after the City of Light falls under Nazi Brooklyn, New York. occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into

18 Backlist EVELYN DOVE: BRITAIN’S BLACK CABARET QUEEN STEPHEN BOURNE

ISBN: 978-1-909762-35-0 eISBN: 978-1-909762-36-7 OCTOBER 2016 Illustrated biography Binding: Paperback, 225 x 166 mm Extent: 160 pp Price: £12.99 Rights: World

The untold story of one of Britain’s most versatile This is a celebration of an extraordinary career singers and performers of the 1920s and 30s punctuated with vertiginous highs and profound lows, and places Dove in historical context with Evelyn Dove embraced the worlds of jazz, musical artists of her time, such as Adelaide Hall, Dame Cleo theatre and, most importantly, cabaret, in a career Laine and Dame Shirley Bassey. spanning five decades from the 1920s through to the 1960s. A black British diva with movie star looks; STEPHEN BOURNE has been specialising in black she captivated audiences and admirers around British histories since 1991. He has written over 15 the world, enjoying the same appeal as the ‘Forces books, including the acclaimed Black in the British Sweetheart’ Vera Lynn throughout the Second Frame, Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music World War. and The Motherland Calls: Britain’s Black Servicemen and Women 1939-1945. Refusing to be constrained by her race or middle– class West African and English backgrounds, she Stephen received the 2015 Southwark Arts Forum would become a regular vocalist for the BBC and Award for Literature for Black Poppies: Britain’s Black a celebrated performer across continental Europe, Community and the Great War and a Screen Nation India and the US. At the height of her fame in Special Award in 2017. He is a regular contributor the 1930s, she worked with the pioneers of black to BBC documentaries and has written for many British theatre, replacing Josephine Baker as the publications, including The Voice, The Independent, star attraction in a revue at the Casino de Paris and BBC History Magazine and History Today. scandalizing her family by appearing on stage semi- nude.

Backlist 19 SPEAK GIGANTULAR IRENOSEN OKOJIE

ISBN: 978-1-909762-29-9 eISBN: 978-1-909762-30-5 SEPTEMBER 2016 Price: £8.99 Short stories Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 224 pp Rights: World excl. Nigeria & Kenya

Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, In these stories Okojie creates worlds where lovelorn the Saboteur awards, the Shirley Jackson Award aliens abduct innocent coffee shop waitresses, and the Jhalak Prize. where the London Underground is inhabited by the ghosts of errant citizens caught between here and ‘Okojie delves into the painful, the unsayable, the the hereafter, where insensitive men cheat on their unknowable. Her prose is precise and illuminating: mistresses and can only muster enough interest to love and loneliness are recurrent themes.’ fall for one-dimensional poster girls and where brave Bernardine Evaristo, The Guardian young women attempt to be erotically empowered at their own peril. A startling debut short story collection from one of Britain’s rising literary stars. These stories are Sexy, serious and at times downright disturbing, this captivating, erotic, enigmatic and disturbing. brilliant debut collection sizzles with originality. Irenosen Okojie’s gift is in her understated humour, her light touch, her razor-sharp assessment of the IRENOSEN OKOJIE is a Nigerian-British writer, best and worst of humankind, and her unflinching curator and Arts Project Manager. Her writing has gaze into the darkest corners of the human been featured in The Guardian and The Observer, experience. and her short stories have been published internationally. See page 22 for the full biography.

Backlist 21 BUTTERFLY FISH IRENOSEN OKOJIE

ISBN: 978-1-909762-31-2 HB ISBN: 978-1-909762-06-0 eISBN: 978-1-909762-14-5 JUNE 2016 Price: £7.99, £12.99 Literary fiction Binding: B-format paperback Extent: 346 pp Rights: World excl. Nigeria & Kenya

Winner of a Betty Trask Award 2016 Haunting and compelling, Butterfly Fish is a richly told story of love and hope, of family secrets, power, ‘One of the most original and innovative writers to political upheaval, loss and coming undone. emerge in many a year.’ Alex Wheatle MBE IRENOSEN OKOJIE is a Nigerian-British writer, ‘Unique and imaginative.’ curator and Arts Project Manager. Her writing has Diana Evans, Orange Prize winner been featured in The Guardian and The Observer, and her short stories have been published After the sudden death of her mother, London internationally. She has worked with the Royal photographer Joy struggles to pull the threads of Shakespeare Company, the Southbank Centre, and her life back together with the support of her kind the Caine Prize and was Writer in Residence for TEDx but mysterious neighbour Mrs Harris. Joy’s fortunes East End. In 2014, she was the Prize Advocate for begin to change when she receives an unexpected the SI Leeds Literary Prize and in 2015 the Evening inheritance from her mother: a huge sum of money, Standard named her as one of the top debut her grandfather’s diary and a unique brass artefact novelists of the summer with for her novel Butterfly from the ancient kingdom of Benin. Fish. She is a mentor for the Pen to Print project Joy’s search for the origins of the artifact takes us on supported by publisher Constable & Robinson and a journey through time, and as dark family secrets lives in East London. come to light, Joy unearths the ties between her mother, grandfather, the wife of a king, a fearsome warrior, and the brass head’s pivotal connection to them all.

22 Backlist THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEE BEYOND THE PALE JESS DE BOER EMILY URQUHART

Driven by a childhood urge to ‘Save the World’ naive ‘A graceful, perceptive rendering of a misunderstood Kenyan, Jess de Boer leaves her privileged home condition.’ Kirkus Reviews in Nairobi in exchange for an adventure that spans continents and encompasses a series of jarring and When Emily’s daughter Sadie is born with albinism, often hilarious mishaps. A series of events eventually a rare genetic disorder where pigment fails to leads her back to Africa where she discovers her true form in the skin, hair and eyes, she elects to take calling: the wonderful world of beekeeping! an immersive journey to East Africa and through her own family tree to discover more about the Join this modern day explorer as she tackles condition. the enormous challenges of aid in Africa and environmental issues, with all the internet-derived Shot through with Emily’s expertise in folklore, this hubris of today’s youth. is a riveting story that questions our cultural beliefs, the randomness of our genes and which vacillates JESS DE BOER was born and raised in Nairobi, between beauty, amazement and horror. Kenya where she now works as a beekeeper and is still on a mission to one day save the world. The EMILY URQUHART is a writer and folklorist based Elephant and the Bee is her first book. in Victoria, British Columbia. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Reader’s Digest, Flare and The Walrus.

Backlist 23 FROM PASTA TO PIGFOOT FROM PASTA TO PIGFOOT: FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS SECOND HELPINGS FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS

Under-achieving PA, Faye Bonsu is on a mission Faye Bonsu returns for another adventure in love! to find love. A journey that will transport her from London’s leafy Hampstead and closer to her African Faye now seems to have it all, but with all her friends heritage and the hectic social whirlpool of Ghana. shifting into yummy-mummy mode, a man who Here she meets the handsome Rocky Asante, a seems to have no desire to put a ring on it, tricky cynical, career-obsessed banker with no time for clients, and an attractive, single boss, things are not women . . . until now. quite as simple as they might appear. Cue a return to sunny Ghana for what she hopes will be the time of Let loose in a world of food, fun and sun, Faye is her life. But life doesn’t always offer second chances forced to discover that no matter how far you travel, and she is forced to make choices that come with you can’t find love until you find yourself. lasting consequences.

FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS was born in Ghana FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS was born in Ghana and grew up in the UK. She is CEO of Interims for and grew up in the UK. She is CEO of Interims for Development Ltd and publisher of careers and Development Ltd and publisher of careers and business website, ReConnectAfrica.com. business website, ReConnectAfrica.com. Her work spans the UK and Africa, and she is the recipient of several professional awards.

24 Backlist SO THE PATH DOES NOT DIE NO MORE HEROES PEDE HOLLIST STEPHEN THOMPSON

African Literature Association Book of the Year (2014) Author of the critically acclaimed novel, Toy Soldiers

So the Path Does Not Die is a touching coming of age It’s July 7, 2005, and Simon Weekes is among the story that follows Finaba through her childhood lucky few to escape a massive bomb blast on the into adulthood, and from her native Sierra Leone to London underground. Seconds after the explosion, the USA. This contemporary tale addresses issues he quickly organises the survivors into an effective of ethnicity, sexuality, gender and Female Genital rescue team. In the days that follow his heroics are Circumcision, told through the life of a determined, subject to the glare of the media and he becomes young African woman. But above all, it is a story of an overnight celebrity. The only thing is, he doesn’t survival. want all the attention. He can’t afford it. He has too much to lose. PEDE HOLLIST is an associate professor of English at The University of Tampa, Florida. Born in Sierra STEPHEN THOMPSON was born in Hackney to Leone, Pede studied in London for a number of years Jamaican parents. He has written several novels before moving to the US. His short story Foreign Aid and plays, and has lectured in Creative Writing at was shortlisted for the 2013 Caine Prize for African Birkbeck College and the University of Edinburgh. Writing. So the Path Does Not Die is his first novel. He is the recipient of an Arts Council New Writers Bursary and is a former Hawthornden Fellow.

Backlist 25 EVERY BOY SHOULD HAVE A MAN SATANS AND SHAITANS PRESTON L. ALLEN OBINNA UDENWE

Imagine a post-human world where Oafs rule what ‘A bold and timely new voice on Nigeria’s ever-strident is left of the planet. Humans have been reduced to literary scene.’ Diana Evans, winner of the Orange Prize a subspecies called ‘mans’ and are kept as pets. And a boy oaf and his beautiful pet mans will teach us Determined to overrule the Nigerian President, about love, justice and bravery. members of the powerful secret society, led by Chief Donald Amechi and Christian Evangelist Chris Every Boy Should Have a Man is an epic fable about Chuba, employ a terrorist cell to carry out attacks love in all its forms, and the unbreakable power in Northern Nigeria under the guise of forming an of hope, set against the backdrop of poverty, Islamic state. discrimination and environmental destruction. Set against the backdrop of Nigeria’s ongoing PRESTON L. ALLEN is a recipient of a State of terrorism tensions and upcoming elections, Satans Florida Individual Artist Fellowship. Every Boy and Shaitans is a powerful story about love, politics, Should Have a Man is his latest novel and has been power, religion, terrorism and corruption. nominated for the Hurston/Wright Prize for African- American literature. OBINNA UDENWE is a Nigerian writer and political commentator. In 2014 he was named Ebonyi State Literary Icon. Satans and Shaitans is his debut novel.

26 Backlist THE BLINK THAT KILLED THE EYE THE COLOUR BLACK ANTHONY ANAXAGOROU MAIA WALCZAK

‘The Blink That Killed The Eye is a rising flood of life, Includes stunning, intricate illustrations and original poetry and everything in-between.’ artwork by the author Rachel Holmes, The Metropolist Silvia Cruz lives quietly as an artist in San Diego A stunningly crafted debut short story collection, drawing the contours of the human body – Max, taking a poetic torch to the shadows of daily life: Arthur and then one day, Jack. Silvia is inexplicably From building sites to prison cells; from the birth drawn to Jack, and confides in him about her past, of love to the last moments of breath, Anthony revealing a secret that drives them both out of town. Anaxagorou navigates expertly through the tangled nets of invisibility, desperation and power to bring Together they travel across the landscapes of us time-defining tales of tragedy and hope. America to Alaska, looking for answers and finding adventure. ANTHONY ANAXAGOROU is an acclaimed poet, prose writer, playwright, performer and educator. MAIA WALCZAK is an artist, illustrator and author. He has published eight volumes of poetry, a spoken Born and raised in London to Polish parents, Maia word EP and written for theatre. has also lived in Chile, Australia and Poland, and now resides in Cornwall.

Backlist 27 GLASS FASHION AFRICA PATRICK WILMOT JACQUELINE SHAW

A writer in self-imposed exile in London receives a With an introduction by Chris Spring call from the Prime Minister of his former country, of the British Museum inviting him to return to write the Prime Minister’s biography. He soon finds himself thrust into a A comprehensive guide to the designers, materials, world of exceptional wealth, power and corruption, and sustainable practices available in continental leading to one potentially cataclysmic decision that Africa. will change everything. ‘Fashion Africa covers all things African and fashion An unflinching tale of social reality, politics, love and related without losing direction, or the reader’s unmitigated horror in a mythological Caribbean attention. Strong on passion and factual information drawn directly from real life. with Vogue level photography, Fashion Africa is a coffee table book with a conscience.’ PATRICK WILMOT was born in Jamaica in 1942 and Joy Francis, Words of Colour taught Political Sociology in Nigeria for 18 years. In 1988, he was abducted by Nigerian security police JACQUELINE SHAW is the Founding Director of and forcibly ‘retired’ to London. His début novel was social enterprise Africa Fashion Guide (AFG) and Seeing Double (Cape, 2005/Vintage, 2012). a professional fashion designer by trade. She has been a speaker at FIT in New York, WOW Festival, the House of Lords, Ghana Fashion Week and more.

28 Backlist Publishing as you know it, with added colour.

Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd Unit 304 Metal Box Factory 30 Great Guildford Street London SE1 0HS E: [email protected] www.jacarandabooksartmusic.co.uk @jacarandabooks facebook.com/jacarandabooks instagram.com/jacarandabooks