HarperCollins UK has acquired another powerful African voice to sit alongside Chimamanda Adichie who it also publishes. Publishing Director Arabella Pike has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Can Feminism Be African? by the Nigerian-Finnish writer Minna Salami from Georgina Capel at Georgina Capel Associates. It will be published in early 2024.
The book is described as a ‘shining, powerful polemic’ and introduces a new view of gender equality through two simple questions: what happens when we consider feminism through an African lens, and Africa through a feminist one?
Salami is the founder of the award-winning blog Ms Afropolitan, which has had over a million readers, and she is a frequently sought-after speaker on African feminism. HarperCollins notes that in its short but impactful history, the feminist movement of Africa has been met with a vicious backlash and antagonism. ‘The backlash has both strengthened and derailed the ambitions of African heritage feminists. Bringing social commentary and feminist critique together, Can Feminism be African? shows how patriarchy and culture stifle feminist spirit – and how we search through language, politics, and soul to reawaken it. Can Feminism be African? incisively explores feminist awakening in relation to Africa.”
Pike says: “Reading Minna Salami is like having all your tired assumptions shaken up, refreshed and formed anew. This new book reframes ideas about feminism and about African identity in radical new ways. We are so excited to be working with her and cannot wait to publish.
Minna Salami says: “I am writing this book to give a sense of key debates in African feminist thought to a wider audience, and to position African feminism as a home of galvanising thought about social, political, and cultural shifts impacting women’s lives today. My book could not have found a better home than with William Collins, who champions writers that seek to make sense of the world with thought-provoking ideas. I feel so thrilled and excited to be working with Arabella Pike, who immediately understood my vision for the book. I am also very lucky to work with such a kind and enthusiastic agent as Georgina Capel.”
Salami has an international background. Born in Finland to a Nigerian father and Swedish mother, she grew up in Nigeria, speaks five languages and now makes London her home. She founded the award-winning blog MsAfropolitan in 2010 and is now an essayist, keynote speaker, lecturer and commentator. Her debut book Sensuous Knowledge (Bloomsbury/Zed, UK) and (Harper Collins/Amistad, US) was published in 2020 and has been translated into multiple languages.