Bahati Books are determined to bring the best new African fiction to a screen near you. Their new collab with the online digital publisher and book club The Pigeonhole is a serialisation of Mother Never Sleeps, a collection of ten short stories. The digital instalments will be delivered straight readers’ devices via the Pigeonhole iOS app, Android app or web reader – sign up here.
You’ll also get the opportunity to discuss what you’re reading with other subscribers and the authors themselves.
The authors come from all over the continent and diaspora – Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa – and you’ll recognise many of their names if you’re a reader of Brittle Paper, Kalahari Review and previous Bahati projects. They are Maryam Aliko Mohammed, Stanley Gazemba, Jude Idada, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, Joe Machina, Ayibu Makolo, Margaret Muthee, Hannah Onoguwe, Zainab Omaki and Marko Phiri.
Barbara Njau, who is the founder of Bahati Books alongside Kudakwashe Kamupira, sees the series as the contemporary and digital version of Heinemann’s classic Africa Writers series, which was launched in the 60s to introduce, at the time, new voices from Africa. It published work by now classic authors like China Achebe, Nadine Gordimer, Ayi Kwei Armah, Nuruddin Farah and Sembène Ousmane.
Njau definitely sees the imprint as an inspiration. She calls the Mother Never Sleeps collection ‘the modern day Africa Writers series’ and part of the Bahati Books’ mission to introduce ‘new African writers that could be game changers in coming years.’