Cassava Republic has unveiled the cover for the forthcoming anthology, She Called Me Woman: Nigeria’s Queer Women Speak. The anthology, to be released on 24 April of this year, collects 25 first-hand accounts that challenge stereotypes about being lesbian, bisexual and trans women in Nigeria.

In an email to Brittle Paper, Cassava Republic’s communications and publicity manager Emeka Nwankwo stated that these are “first-hand accounts by a community telling their stories on their own terms.” The bold anthology, he explains, “includes stories of first time love and curiosity, navigating same-sex feelings and spirituality, growing up gender non-conforming and overcoming family and society’s expectations.”

The anthology comes with two blurbs. “This is a bold, brave and brilliant book,” from Jackie Kay. And: “I urge you to read this collection,” from Stella Duffy.

She Called Me Woman joins the Unoma Azuah-edited Blessed Body: The Secret Lives of LGBT Nigerian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (2016), which is in print, and 14’s anthologies We Are Flowers (2017) and The Inward Gaze (2018), which are e-books, among the best-known collections of the real-life experiences of queer people in Nigeria. She Called Me Woman will add a new dimension to conversations about literature humanizing queerness.

Congratulations to Cassava Republic.