Home 5 News 5 Nigerian Author’s Debut Novel Sparks Global Interest

Nigerian Author’s Debut Novel Sparks Global Interest

by | Apr 4, 2024 | News

 

Simon & Schuster imprints Summit in the US and Scribner in UK have acquired a first novel by a new Nigerian academic and writer, Nneoma Ike-Njoku.

Entitled The Water House, it follows the journey of a young woman called Celia as she unravels the mystery surrounding her brother’s death in their childhood mansion in 1960s Nigeria.

Scribner Publishing director Sophie Missing acquired UK and Commonwealth rights at auction from Anna Webber at United Agents for publication in spring 2026. North American rights were acquired by Laura Perciasepe at Summit Books from Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic, on behalf of Anna Webber. German language rights were pre-empted by Sarah Leibl at btb Verlag, through Jane Willis at UA.

Missing said: “The Water House reminded me of a mid-century novel – short, stripped back, stylish – but with a voice and atmosphere that feels entirely fresh and original. I love how it nods to classics like Rebecca, Jane Eyre and The Color Purple, while confounding expectations with wit and panache. Celia might initially bring to mind one of Jean Rhys’s heroines struggling in the city, but she is eminently capable. Nneoma Ike-Njoku is an incredibly exciting new talent and I’m so thrilled that she has chosen Scribner as her UK home.”

Ike-Njoku was born and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. Her short fiction has appeared in Transition Magazine, The Winter Tangerine Review, The Kalahari Review, and NANO Fiction.  In 2022 The Water House won the DGA First Novel prize, and the novel also won the Betty Trask Award, given to novels of a traditional or romantic nature.

The judges for the DGA First Novel Prize said:  “This is a short but incredibly promising novel with great sense of place, set just before Nigeria’s independence. We admired the storytelling, the writing and the setting of the novel, which follows Celia, a young woman with a haunted past, as she tries to make her way in the world. Written in the first person, Celia’s voice is memorable and insistent, taking us through flashbacks to her time living in the Water House, her time in a borstal for young people, and a new life in Lagos before she feels drawn home in search of answers. We felt the book had real potential, that Nneoma’s writing had a natural, confident style and are delighted to make Nneoma Ike-Njoku the winner of the First Prize in the First Novel Prize.”

Ike-Njoku is on the staff at Cornell University in the US where her research focus is 19th century British novels, American short fiction and African novels in the 21st century.

‘This is a short but incredibly promising novel with great sense of place, set just before Nigeria’s independence. We admired the storytelling, the writing and the setting of the novel, which follows Celia, a young woman with a haunted past, as she tries to make her way in the world. Written in the first person, Celia’s voice is memorable and insistent, taking us through flashbacks to her time living in the Water House, her time in a borstal for young people, and a new life in Lagos before she feels drawn home in search of answers. We felt the book had real potential, that Nneoma’s writing had a natural, confident style and are delighted to make Nneoma Ike-Njoku the winner of the First Prize in the First Novel Prize 2022.’

 

 

Recent News

17Jul
Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin said release date of On Winter Hill would be changed in order to ‘support the author’ after allegations that Raynor Winn lied in her bestselling memoir. Author Raynor Winn’s new book has been delayed because questions about her bestselling work The Salt Path have caused her and her husband “considerable distress”, her publisher has […]

17Jul
Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, will publish in March […]

16Jul
Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was Bonnier publisher. Among the authors who are making the jump with them […]

Related Posts

Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the...

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was...

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

In a timeless moment etched into the memory of human heritage, the sun of Sharjah rose once again on the map of the world, this time through the gateway of deep history. At its recently concluded 47th session in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this