We are proud to unveil eight (8) newly published books authored by the winners of the 2017 Words Rhymes & Rhythm Green Author Prize (GAP) for young, unpublished Nigerian writers.
The new books – FILES OF THE HEART by IWU JEFF (Novel), A LAGOS LOVE STORY by ZAINAB KABIR (Novel), JIMMY’S FACE MEETS BRICK WALL by ONALEYE PELUMI (Novel), SONS WITH ROOTS by MIRACLE E. NWOKEDI (Short Stories), MEMORY AND OTHER SHARDS by RACHEL IGE (Short Stories), TRANSCENDENCE by AREMU ADAMS ADEBISI (Poetry), APOCALYPTIC ACAPELLAS by AKOR EMMANUEL OCHE (Poetry) and BROKEN THINGS by OLUWAPELUMI FRANCIS SALAKO (Poetry), are now available for purchase on Amazon and Okadabooks.
Book details and purchase links:
BOOK TITLE: FILES OF THE HEART
AUTHOR: IWU JEFF
GENRE: NOVEL
ISBN: 978-978-964-189-5
BOOK SUMMARY:
Shackled by fear, Chinwe, Obinna’s second to none, reminiscences the tales of her life, filed away in her heart. Her life is woven and shaped by her brother’s scratch of love, living objectively in a society where moral decadence, terrorism, conflict, killings and kidnapping threaten the nation. She finds fulfillment in the midst of sacrifice and pains, neglecting the social requirement that makes her a complete woman. But, can she survive in the absence of her love attachment?
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
IWU JEFF (Iwuchukwu Jephta) is a poet, playwright and fiction writer. He is a teacher of English and literature with Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) in English (double major), and a B.A(ed) in English. His works have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies, few have garnered awards.
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Contact the author: iwu.jeff@yahoo.com (Instagram: @iwujeff)
BOOK TITLE: A LAGOS LOVE STORY
AUTHOR: ZAINAB KABIR
GENRE: NOVEL
ISBN: 978-978-55613-2-6
BOOK SUMMARY:
A Lagos Love Story tells a stirring tale about Lagos, jungle justice, homelessness and the art of risk taking through its main characters Hilal and Salim. These two, though living in different worlds, and walking different paths, meet and connect in the most amazing way and change each other’s life completely, forever.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
ZAINAB KABIR TALATA is a 19-year-old fiction and creative non-fiction writer presently studying Law at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK). Born in Lagos but raised in Abuja where she still lives, Zainab took interest in writing quite early, and has several writing, including two unpublished novels to her name. She believes that writing is not just a hobby, but also an avenue to express emotions and beliefs without interruptions.
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Contact the author: kabirzee6@gmail.com (Instagram: @pearlsandglasses_)
BOOK TITLE: SONS WITH ROOTS
AUTHOR: MIRACLE E. NWOKEDI
GENRE: SHORT STORIES
ISBN: 978-978-964-185-7
BOOK SUMMARY:
SONS WITH ROOTS is a collection of eight moving stories that capture African traditions and masculinity, gender differences, romance, stretched bonds between a mother and her son alongside death, the fear of it and the very many things that come with it.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
MIRACLE .E. NWOKEDI is a budding writer who loves to tell African short stories. She is an alumna of the Young Professional Platform, Lagos. Nwokedi’s works have been published on platforms like Africanwriter, Brittlepaper, The Naked Convos and Hub 201. Her work also featured in Dark Clouds and Other Stories, an anthology of short stories from across Africa. In 2017, she was shortlisted in the JLF Creative Writing Contest. She lives in Asaba, Delta state where she is working on creating a mentorship platform for young creative minds.
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Contact the author: miracleamaka73@gmail.com (Instagram: @miracle.nwokedi)
BOOK TITLE: BROKEN THINGS
AUTHOR: OLUWAPELUMI FRANCIS SALAKO
ISBN: 978-978-964-186-4
GENRE: POETRY
BOOK SUMMARY:
Broken Things is a journey of boys who were born men. It is a ruminative recount of miseries and struggles of those who were forced into maturity. The collection seeks to find answers in dark places – sex, religion and tradition – and under flickering lights of love and heroism. It is a voice of pain attempting to speak healing under the thick shadows of wariness. It is a diary of boys travelling back to find shards of innocence – away from blue memories.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
OLÚWAPÈLÚMI FRANCIS SÀLÀKÓ, poet and essayist, is a sophomore student of History and International Studies at the University of Ilorin. His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Tuck magazine, Dwarts, Prachya Review, WS Africa, elsewhere. His essays appear in medium. Sàlàkó is a commonwealth youth correspondent and curator of Wakaabout, a street photography project dedicated to the daily existence of the common people. He is a recipient of the 2017 Green Author Prize.
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Contact the author: oluwapelumifrancissalako@gmail.com (Instagram: @salakobaba)
BOOK TITLE: MEMORY AND OTHER SHARDS
AUTHOR: RACHEL IGE
GENRE: SHORT STORIES
ISBN: 978-978-55613-1-9
BOOK SUMMARY:
MEMORY AND OTHER SHARDS is a collection of fictitious short stories which is a product of an imaginative mind and a crazy society. From the long, twisted arm of fate to the danger lurking in a home and the dwindling value of the Nigerian indigenous culture, this book is a broken mirror, with shards that reflect the society in which we live. What you see when you read, is a tinge of humor, a swipe of terror, and of course, a dash of madness! “Terror” has been previously published in “October Stories” (A collection of short stories by Uites) and Flash Fiction Magazine (FFM). Likewise, ‘”Fate: Memories gave me chills”, was first published on TheNakedConvos in 2017.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
IGE RACHEL is a graduate of the University of Ibadan. She writes short stories and poems and has had some of her works featured on platforms like FFM, TheNakedConvos, etc, and in anthologies like “Uites Write”, “October Stories” and “Epistles of Lies”. She has won prizes in Poetry contests like the Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest 2017 (May edition), Scribble the Future Poetry contest, and Okigbo poetry competition. She was also a finalist in the Ego Aghedo Poetry competition 2013. Memory and Other Shards is her first book. She is currently studying at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja.
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Contact the author: ige.rachel7@gmail.com (Instagram: @rachel_bellenoire)
BOOK TITLE: JIMMY’S FACE MEETS BRICK WALL
AUTHOR: ONALEYE PELUMI
GENRE: NOVEL
ISBN: 978-978-55613-0-2
BOOK SUMMARY:
What if a man were a planet? A twenty-seven-year-old planet going about the motions of adult life like every other planetal-cog in the societal solar system. Jimmy’s life was what any Nigerian his age will consider normal, with a job that paid the bills, an active sex life and fairly normal friends. Until he met her that was—the meteor shower that pushed his planet off its orbit. Will he get his life back on track? Does this off kilter planet realign its axis or does it fall off entirely to float in the cosmos? What happens to a man totally out of sorts with caring too much about the right person?
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
ONALEYE PELUMI FAVOUR is a fiction writer currently studying Architecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
He hails from Oyo state, Nigeria and he writes under the pseudonym ‘Fapelo’ an alias he coined from a combination of his names (FAvour-PELumi-Onaleye). Though only taking writing seriously a few years ago, there are very few things he loves do more than write.
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Contact the author: oluwapelumifrancissalako@gmail.com (Instagram: @fapelowrites)
BOOK TITLE: TRANSCENDENCE
AUTHOR: AREMU ADAMS ADEBISI
GENRE: POETRY
ISBN: 978-978-964-188-8
BOOK SUMMARY:
Transcendence basically is poetry at its dynamics, the sea of emotions and the bull-eye of mysticism. Its imaginary invasion is parallel to that of a landscape painting as it traces the different shapes and components of words that appeal to sensibility. It tackles life from a standpoint that oscillates between abstraction and anecdote in sections thoroughly layered and enjoyed. Tending to break into the unprecedented at each turn of a page, this collection of poetry certainly stalks its mystery.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
AREMU ADAMS ADEBISI is a graduate of Islamic Studies and an Economics major at the University of Ilorin. Adebisi’s works have been published on several platforms, including the WRR Poetry platform, Misty Mountain Review, Kalahari Review, AOIslamic and Africanwriters amongst others. He has also been published in anthologies like the ‘Wind of Change’, ‘Love Poetry Anthology’ and ‘The Train Stops At Sunset’.
In 2015, Adebisi was listed among the top 50 poets who rocked Nigeria and he has clinched a number of runner-up positions in literary competitions, chief of which are the Eriata Oribhabor Food Poetry Prize, the Talented and multiple editions of the Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (BPPC). He edited the Purple Magazine and co-founded the Wordiators poetry movement.
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Contact the author: dhadarms@gmail.com (Instagram: @theantagonist__)
BOOK TITLE: APOCALYPTIC ACAPELLAS
AUTHOR: AKOR EMMANUEL OCHE
GENRE: POETRY
ISBN: 978-978-964-187-1
BOOK SUMMARY:
APOCALYPTIC ACCAPELLAS presents intangible wisdom and a novel thought process to viewing life in poetry…
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
AKOR EMMANUEL OCHE is a Nigerian poet, critic and essayist. He is the Secretary of the Africa Haiku Network and C.E.O of OCHEBOOKS: writing, entrepreneurship and publishing consultancy firm which also specializes in art collection and dealing.
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Contact the author: akor.emmaoche@gmail.com (Instagram: @ochebooks)
Many thanks to the GAP 2017 panel of judges — Su’eddie Vershima Agema, Estrella Gada, Uchenna Walter Ude, Akpan-Nya, Alexandra Emem, Bura-Bari Nwilo, Romeo Oriogun and Joseph Omotayo, for supporting the project.
The Green Author Prize (GAP) is one of the many ways through which we fulfill our mandate as an indigenous publishing company with great interest in developing young writing talents and promoting Nigerian literature. Visit our About Us section to read more about Words Rhymes & Rhythm Publishers and learn about our other CSR initiatives, youth-targeted programs, and activities.
