Unigwe’s novel will be published in April 2023.
By Editor
Canongate Books has announced the acquisition of Nigerian writer, Chika Unigwe’s novel, The Middle Daughter, a retelling of the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.
“When Nani is only 17, she loses her beloved sister and father. Misunderstood by the rest of her family, she is beguiled by an itinerant preacher, a handsome self-proclaimed ‘man of God’ who seems to offer all the answers,” the synopsis reads.
Unigwe, a Nigerian novelist, short story writer and academic, has won the NLNG-sponsored Prize for Literature. She is the author of the novels, On Black Sisters’ Street, and Night Dancer. She is a professor of writing at Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia.
“This contemporary reimagining of the myth of Hades and Persephone told in a polyphony of voices examines the struggles of being a woman in a patriarchal society, explores issues of feminism and gender, and the dynamics of family relationships,” Unigwe said. “I am honoured to be publishing this book with Canongate, and especially thrilled to be working again with the brilliant Ellah Wakatama.”
Ellah Wakatama, editor-at-large, Canongate Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Unigwe’s book, and will publish it in April 2023.