Nigerian writer, Kasimma, has a debut short story collection coming out in November this year. The collection is titled, All Shades of Iberibe. The book is coming from  Sandorf Passage.

The collection, according to the publishers, explores “sexuality, the influence of both Christianity and Igbo rituals, the bonds of family, and the stains of certain longstanding traditions, making for a singular and, at times, shocking book.”

Here is a note from the publishers

“In the Nigerian language Igbo “iberibe” means “messed up.” This stunning short story collection by Kasimma grabs readers and pulls them into the cities and villages of today’s Nigeria. Against the glare of smartphones, spirits of the dead flicker, elders admonish their grown children, rituals are done in secret, and the scars of war are just below the surface in the lives of astonishingly vivid characters. Kasimma’s stories effortlessly inhabit the dark, alluring, and beautiful spaces between mystical Nigerian traditions and our strange contemporary condition.”

Chika Unigwe, in the publisher’s statement, said “All Shades of Iberibe pulses with wit and wisdom. In stories that often surprise, that often blur the line between the living and the dead, Kasimma presents a Nigeria that is peopled with characters struggling as much to understand as to be understood.”

Sandorf Passage is a nonprofit publisher set up to publish books by authors from the former Yugoslavia. Kasimma’s All Shades of Iberibe is the first step the publishers are taking to include books by authors from other parts of the world in their catalogue.

Kasimma is an alumni of Chimamanda Adichie’s Creative Writing Workshop, SSDA workshop, IWP, and others. She’s been a writer-in-residence across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Her works appear or are forthcoming in Jellyfish Review, Kiwetu Journal, Native Skin, The Puritan, Afreecan Read.

The stunning  cover art of Kasimma’s debut collection is designed by Nigerian artist Karo Akpokiere.

We are thrilled to have published Kasimma’s poem on the Lekki massacre: Blood on the Streets of Lagos

Read an excerpt from the collection here

You can pre-order the book here

Congratulations Kasimma!