Zambian global health organizer Iris Mwanza is releasing her debut novel. It is titled The Good Boy and will be published by Graydon House.

According to Publishers Marketplace, the story follows “the disappearance of a queer boy in Lusaka, Zambia, possibly at the hands of the police, and the young, inexperienced lawyer who fights a corrupt system to get justice for him, set against the backdrop of Zambia’s political upheaval in the 1990s.” The statement also noted that the book would be great for readers who enjoyed Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji and Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King.

Mwanza was born in Zambia and is currently the Deputy Director of Women in Leadership, Gender Equality Division Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She has an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, as well as law degrees from Cornell University and the University of Zambia.

While there is no release date for the novel, we are excited about the book. Congrats to Mwanza! Stay tuned for more details.