Watching Petina Gappah

We have been advised by The Africa Report, a reputable publication, to view Petina Gappah as one of the African people to watch in 2009. Some of us started watching her as early as 2007, but there is no doubt that 2009 is an important year for her and for literature. In April, as readers of this blog may know already, Faber and Faber will publish her short story collection, An Elegy for Easterly. My understanding is the book will subsequently appear in other languages, Dutch, Italian, etc. In June, the US version of the book will be published by FSG, which means that we will know in advance about its laydown date at places like Borders and Barnes & Noble. On that Tuesday I will try to break a record by being one of the first customers to get my copy (The only thing that would stop me is I would have already gotten the British edition). If you once worked for these large US bookstore chains, like I did when I was a student, you will know that it is rare to see an African book on the Front of Store new fiction tables, but a book by FSG culls its shelf and display space in advance, and may require display in a custom case from the publisher. In short, I am happy for Gappah, who has posted the book's front cover image on her blog. I don't know yet if I have permission to display it, but come see it here.

Comments

Petina Gappah said…
Thanks for this publicity Emmanuel, and for all your support, but please do call me Petina. Gappah sounds like someone serious and purposeful, and that is certainly not how I see myself:)
November 30, 2008 at 1:31 AM
Emmanuel Sigauke said…
I know, Petina. Unfortunately, MLA, CSM, APA, etc, do not allow use of first names when referring to authors, especially in theses and dessertations. So as a teacher, I was just modelling good behavior ahead of the inevitable arrival of the two books....
November 30, 2008 at 11:12 AM
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