Nigerian author Uchenna Awoke has signed a deal for his debut novel titled The Liquid Eye of the Moon. It was acquired by Scribe UK with a 2024 projected publication date.

According to Publisher’s Market Place, The Liquid Eye of the Moon “was pitched as a Nigerian CATCHER IN THE RYE, narrated by a teenage boy whose desire to pull his family out of poverty takes him to Lagos, where he deepens his knowledge of social segregation, and reckons with his anger at the systems that have oppressed his family.”

Awoke is from Uzo-Uwani in Nsukka, a rural community in Eastern Nigeria. His inspiring journey from a life of very little means to literary recognition is detailed in this interview. A high-school dropout, he is a self-taught writer and credits his success to mentorship from a close writer friend as well as the MacDowell fellowship, which he won in 2018. He is also a 2019 Graywolf Africa Prize finalist.

His editor Kendall story, who also shared the news of the acquisition, on Twitter is excited to work with him:

I cannot wait to work with Uchenna Awoke on his debut The Liquid Eye of a Moon, a rich and expansive coming-of-age novel in conversation with Chinua Achebe as well as J.D. Salinger, Adichie as well as Kafka.

Congrats to Awoke! We can’t wait for his debut book. It sounds intriguing. We’ll keep you updated on the book as more info becomes available.