Big win for British author of Congolese descent JJ Bola. He has secured a two-book deal with Dialogue Books, an imprint of Little Brown for his forthcoming novels The Selfless Act of Breathing and OTA.

The Bookseller reports that Publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Maria Cardona at the Pontas Literary & Film Agency.

The Selfless Act of Breathing will be published as a lead title on the imprint in March 2021 with OTA following in 2023.

Described as “Moonlight meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” The Selfless Act of Breathing chronicles the life of Michael, a suicidal young immigrant in America, grappling with the harsh realities of police brutality, political conflicts and environmental desecration.

OTA is “a historical fiction on the life of Ota Benga, a Mbuti man from Congo, who was captured and sold to Samuel Philips Verner, a missionary and anthropologist from the United States in 1904.”

In the Bookseller report, Bola expresses excitement about the chance to achieve the literary milestone of a second novel.

 I am incredibly excited to embark on this new chapter of my literary career for my second novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing. It has taken many years of hard work and sacrifice, not just of my own but many others to get here. I would like to thank Sharmaine Lovegrove, and the team at Dialogue and Little Brown, for believing in me and my art. I’m joining a team of many writers and professionals of the industry whom I am a fan of…I would also like to extend my many thanks to the Pontas Agency for the belief, constant support and encouragement, to OWN IT! for giving my debut novel a platform and always championing the outsiders, and for the many readers and supporters of my work, whether you have been there from the start of reading poems with a trembling hand at an open mic night with four people in a room, or if I have just peaked your interest now; no matter where along the way, I would not be here without you.”

Brittle Paper congratulates JJ Bola.

 

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