Proudly Nigerian

As in Nigeria, vagabonds are those whose existence is literally outlawed: the queer, the poor, the displaced, the footloose and rogue spirits. They are those who inhabit transient spaces, who make their paths and move invisibly, who embrace apparitions, old vengeances and alternative realities. Eloghosa Osunde’s brave, fiercely inventive novel traces a wild array of characters for whom life itself is a form of resistance: a driver for a debauched politician with the power to command life and death; a legendary fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter; a lesbian couple whose tender relationship sheds unexpected light on their experience with underground sex work; a wife and mother who attends a secret spiritual gathering that shifts her world. As their lives intertwine—in bustling markets and underground clubs, churches and hotel rooms—vagabonds are seized and challenged by spirits who command the city’s dark energy. Whether running from danger, meeting with secret lovers, finding their identities, or vanquishing their shadowselves, Osunde’s characters confront and support one another, before converging for the once-in-a-lifetime gathering that gives the book its unexpectedly joyous conclusion.

Blending unvarnished realism with myth and fantasy, Vagabonds! is a vital work of imagination that takes us deep inside the hearts, minds, and bodies of a people in duress—and in triumph.

She’s the Pearl of Makoko and the world is her oyster.

In Makoko, the floating slum off mainland Lagos, Nigeria, nineteen-year-old Baby yearns for an existence where she can escape the future her father has planned for her. With opportunities scarce, Baby jumps at the chance to join a newly launched drone-mapping project, aimed at broadening the visibility of her community. Then a video of her at work goes viral and Baby finds herself with options she could never have imagined – including the possibility of leaving her birthplace to represent Makoko on the world stage. But will life beyond the lagoon be everything she’s dreamed of? Or has everything she wants been in front of her all along?

A page-turning novel about the dark side of social media.

Perfect for fans of The List or How to Kill Your Family.

Anuri Chinasa has had enough. She was the unwilling star of her stepmother’s social media empire before ‘mumfluencers’ were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee, every milestone and meltdown for millions of strangers to fawn over and pick apart.

Now twenty-five years old, Anuri is desperate to escape her public past and start living on her own terms. But so far, it’s not going well. She can barely walk down the street without being recognised, her PhD application is still unfinished and her drinking problem is getting worse. She wants her stepmother out of her life, but Ophelia has made it very clear she won’t let go without a fight.

But when Ophelia starts pushing Anuri’s five-year-old sister, Noelle, down a similar path, she reaches breaking point. Anuri won’t watch history repeat itself.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself is a darkly funny, heartfelt satire about the dangers of social media and the deceptive allure of the picture-perfect existence.