EXPLORE THE WORLD OF WOCS

 
 
 

A Boisterous and
high-Spirited Debut

Walking on Cowrie Shells is a “boisterous and high-spirited debut” (Kirkus starred review), named a Most Anticipated Book selection for Brittle Paper, The Millions, and The Rumpus, this kaleidoscopic collection focuses on the lives of hyphenated-Americans with multi-culti roots in the United States and Africa. The book spans genres – literary realism, horror, mystery, YA, science fiction – and features complex, fully-embodied characters: tongue-tied linguistic anthropologists, comic book enthusiasts and even water goddesses. The stories aim to entertain readers while also offering a counterpoint to prevalent “heart of darkness” writing that too often depicts a singular “African” experience plagued by locusts, hunger, and tribal in-fighting.

INDIE AMAZON WALMART TARGET BARNES & NOBLE

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Full of stories that weave together love and friendship, horror and comedy, all with great deftness.”

— YAA GYASI, AUTHOR OF TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM

ADVANCE PRAISE

“A virtuosic, kaleidoscopic debut . . . It would be impossible to overstate how much I love this book, and its author.”

— Karen Russell, author of Orange World

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Funny and heartbreaking and wonderfully ferocious; it’s been ages since I’ve read sentences with this much verve and snap.”

— Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Walking on Cowrie Shells is a collection of verve, audacity, and consummate control.”

— Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Ghost Variations

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Nana Nkweti’s words are dazzlingly energetic, world-ranging and straight-up brilliant.”

— Samantha Hunt, author of The Dark Dark

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Magical, funny, inventive and joyous, Nkweti’s tales remind us what storytelling can be.”

— Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less

 

COME THROUGH FOR THE BOOK TOUR

 

Virtual Conversation with Karen Russell

June 1 • 6PM CT / 7PM ET

Hub City Bookstore
Free and open to all. Register for event online via:

HC Website / Facebook / Eventbrite

 

Afrofuturism as Expression: Literature, Dance, and Black Abstraction 

June 3 • 7PM-8:30PM  ET

Virtual Conversation with Deborah Goffe and André Zachery, moderated by  DK Nnuro

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art
Free and open to all.

 

Virtual Conversation with Alexia Arthurs

June 9 • 7PM CT / 8PM ET

Exile in Bookville 
Free and open to all.

 

STORY SPOTLIGHT: THE LIVING INFINITE

“His eyes coast over the indigo-trellised gold scales plating her hips and thighs, glimmering like blue-ray limpets in strong flows. Taking his sweet, molasses-drip time to take it all in—from her feather-fine fins to the gills at her breastbone.”

STORY SPOTLIGHT: IT JUST KILLS YOU INSIDE

“After that thing took teeth to the meat of my hand, I hadn’t really felt anything for a moment, just the shock of finding myself rent from reality, thrust into the starring role of some direct-to-video, B-movie reel. Then the gen d’armes took a machete in hand—those banana republic cops always seemed to have one at the ready—and cut mine clean off.”

STORY SPOTLIGHT: KINKS

“She walked down an embassy row of beauty care shops: Dominican pelo salons, South Asian eyebrow threaders, and Korean beauty supplies purveying its mine cause I bought it hair—human, synthetic, pre-packed or by the pound, colors rainbowing fro acid green ombré to #60’s icy blonde.”

EXPLORE THE WORLD OF WOCS