Nikhil_Singh © Nick Boulton /cape PhantomLovely
Luna Press Publishing is delighted to announce they have acquired Club Ded by Nikhil Singh, a ground-breaking Afrofuturistic novel which goes beyond current understanding of the term.
Francesca Tristan Barbini, owner and publisher of Luna Press Publishing, acquired WEL and Italian rights from Sarah Such at Sarah Such Literary Agency.
In Club Ded, Afrofuturism meets Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in an exhilarating psychedelic-noir second novel from Nikhil Singh, author of Taty Went West, shortlisted for Best African Novel in the inaugural Nommo Awards.
Francesca T Barbini says,
‘Talking to Nikhil about Club Ded we fell in love with his bold approach to explore and expand speculative African fiction. We first met at Helsinki Worldcon, and even then it was easy to tell how committed Nikhil was to gritty, realistic storytelling, albeit in a speculative setting. His words have never shied away from telling it like it was, which is what we really like here at Luna. His work is simply uncompromising.’
Nikhil Singh comments:
“The idea with this book was not to fall into the burgeoning ‘Afrofuturist’ narrative traps currently being pushed. But to expand the genre while it is still being formed. Much of the internal discrepancy in the Afrofuturist scene has been formed in the push and pull between American and African viewpoints.
In Club Ded I wanted to highlight that divide – and also show how it could be brought together. Principally, in relationship between the characters of Brick Bryson (an African American A-list star) and Fortunato (a maverick Zulu film-maker who has assumed a Nigerian identity in order to escape his past). At first there is a culture clash between the two. The American form here is quite set, externalized and consumerist. The African form is secretive, experimental, revealing itself in layers. Through conflict and necessity – they eventually find way to join forces.”
About the Author
Nikhil Singh is a South African artist, writer and musician. Former projects include the graphic novels: Salem Brownstone written by John Harris Dunning (longlisted for the Branford Boase Award, Walker Books 2009) as well as The Ziggurat (Bell-Roberts 2003) by The Constructus Corporation (now Die Antwoord). His work has also been featured in various magazines including Dazed, i-D Online, Creative Review, as well as Pictures and Words: New Comic Art and Narrative Illustration (Laurence King, 2005). His debut novel Taty Went West was published by Kwani? Trust in 2015, Jacaranda Books (UK) in 2017, and Rosarium (US) in 2018. The book was released with an accompanying soundtrack and was shortlisted for Best African Novel in the inaugural Nommo Awards. He was recently invited to submit a story to The Unquiet Dreamer, a prestigious Harlan Ellison tribute, from PS Publishing in 2019. To date, the author has participated in the following festivals: African Futures (Nairobi 2015), Time of the Writer (SA 2015), African Utopia (Southbank Center UK 2015), Africa Writes (British Library UK / Royal African Society 2016), Worldcon 75/Hugo Awards (Hugo Awards presenter / profiled writer Helsinki 2017), South African Book Fair / Bookweek (SA 2017), Readercon (Boston 2018), New York Science Fiction Review (NY 2018).
About Luna Press Publishing
Luna Press Publishing is an award-winning press, based in Edinburgh. Established in 2015, Luna is a member of Publishing Scotland. The press is currently shortlisted for 5 British Fantasy Society Awards, including Best Independent Press, Best Newcomer, Best Collection, Best Non-Fiction, Best Comic/Graphic Novel.
Club Ded is planned to be released in 2020.
