Nigerian author Tobi Ogundiran’s forthcoming short story collection Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic will be published on July 18 by Undertow Publications. We recently caught up with Ogundiran via email to chat about this new book that has everyone on the edge of their seats.

The book is strange and intriguing, as evidenced in a quick survey of some of the stories: “The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library” is the story of “a hapless salesman who flees the otherworldly librarian hell-bent on retrieving her lost library book.” “The Tale of Jaja and Canti” re-imagines “Pinocchio, but this time the wooden boy does not want to become real. Instead, he desires to be loved and journeys the world in search of his mother – an ancient and powerful entity who is best not sought out.” In “The Goatkeeper’s Harvest” a woman “finds that goats have broken into her barn and are devouring all her tubers. As she chases them off with a rake, a woman appears claiming the goats are her children, and that the young woman has killed one of them and must pay the price: a goat for a goat.”

If these stories piqued your interest, join us in our conversation with Ogundiran as he shares his journey as a writer, the beginnings of his love for speculative fiction, and the current books on his reading list.

***

Brittle Paper

Hello Tobi. How are you? Tell us something interesting about where you live at the moment.

Tobi Ogundiran

Hi, Brittle Paper. I’m good, thank you. I currently reside in Oxford, a quaint college town in Northern Mississippi (I’m pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi) and it is a beautiful place. There are endless green trees, and lush, verdant fields—a dream country town. Having grown up in Lagos, Nigeria, which I like to say is New York on steroids, the change of pace and scenery is really welcome!

Brittle Paper

You have a new book on the way, which we have not read but find endlessly intriguing. It’s titled Jackal, Jackal and set to be published later this year. Tell us about the book.

Tobi Ogundiran

Jackal, Jackal, or as the subtitle says, Tales of the Dark and Fantastic, is a collection of eighteen stories—stories I’ve had published in various journals, stories that have made my career so far—plus two new ones. It’s got witches and griots and doors without jambs, and trees that are not really trees. It’s steeped in elements of fantasy and dark whimsy that I love to read. It features heavily Nigerian/African myth, which I like to blend with Western fairytales to create something wholly my own. It’s already made Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Summer Reads so that augurs well, I suppose. I’m really proud of the book, and I hope readers like it.

Brittle Paper

Strange but intriguing title. What inspired it?

Tobi Ogundiran

Thank you! I love titles. Especially titles that sing. Other story titles in the collection include: Deep in the Gardener’s Barrow, In the Smile Place, and Midnight in Moscow. Don’t you just want to read them? Haha. Anyway, Jackal, Jackal is the title of one of the newer stories in the book. And … well … all I can say is that there is a jackal, but it’s no ordinary jackal. Once you read the story, the epizeuxis in the title becomes clear.

Brittle Paper

We imagine you love all the stories in the collection. But which one would you say stands out for whatever reason—it was most challenging, easiest, emotional taxing, etc. to write?

Tobi Ogundiran

Ah, now that’s a tough one. But I’ll probably go with Here Sits His Ignominy, an alternative history fantasy story written from the point of view of the Nubians to colonisers. The long ripples of colonisation is still felt in previously colonised nations, particularly in Africa. So this story imagines an Africa that had magic to fight invading colonisers and the retribution visited upon them. When my sister read this story, she asked, “Are you sure you want to publish this?” I wasn’t. But I sent it out anyway, and it got published in an anthology, and the reception has been exceptional. So I’ve included it in this collection.

Brittle Paper

Your publisher, Undertow Publications, is based in Canada. How did you come to work with them? What has the experience been?

Tobi Ogundiran

When I read Priya Sharma’s All the Fabulous Beasts, published by Undertow in 2018, I was blown away. I knew when I had a collection, I wanted Undertow to publish it. Fast forward to 2022 (Jan 1, because I have no chill), I approached my editor Michael Kelly, asking if he’d be open to taking a look at the collection. Undertow is one of the top literary presses out there, as attested by the quality of books they put out both in presentation and actual content. Michael has a sharp eye for good books and is really selective with what projects he takes on, so it was a joy to have him offer on my book. The experience has been nothing short of wonderful; Michael strings me along every step of the way and I feel like he really cares about it.

Brittle Paper

Speculative fiction is taking African literature by storm. What drew you to the genre?

Tobi Ogundiran

As a child I didn’t separate speculative fiction from so-called literary fiction. Most children’s books, if we’re going to be pedantic about it, are speculative; there is no better fodder for a child’s burgeoning imagination than such wondrous tales. Storytelling being one of the world’s oldest art forms manifests in various cultures as myths or fables to make sense of the world. African literature, in particular, has always been “speculative”. Ghosts? Bizarre apparitions? Spider trickster-gods? These were the stories that surrounded me, told in a rather matter-of-fact way, I might add. And these stories, in reading, were what I gravitated towards, so it only felt natural that when I put pen to paper, these were the kinds of stories that poured forth.

Brittle Paper

Even though Jackal, Jackal is your debut book, it looks like you’ve been on this writing thing for a while. Tell us about your journey, so far, as a writer.

Tobi Ogundiran

I go in depth into this in the Author’s Note in the book. But here’s the short version:

I’ve been writing stories forever—since I could hold a pencil if my parents are to be believed. In high school, I wrote a thinly-veiled pastiche of Harry Potter, and I’d have classmates take turns waiting to read every new chapter. That did a lot of good for my ego, as you can imagine, and with the blustering hubris of youth, I told myself I was the next best thing. I got a very rude awakening when I tried to get an agent and was met with endless rejections or worse, silence. How dare they not recognise my genius? I thought. Profoundly humbled, I limped back to the drawing board and began to really study my favourite authors, learning the mechanics of what makes a good tale. I had imagination; craft was what I needed. In the end, my scholarship paid off; my first professional publication was in 2018 and I’ve been going strong ever since.

Brittle Paper

You are a fiction writer at the moment. What other genres do you see yourself exploring in the future?

Tobi Ogundiran

I don’t know about other genres, but I love storytelling, and I’m looking to explore it in every medium. Graphic novels, screenplays (for when my books get optioned haha)—any medium that’ll allow me to tell the stories I want to tell in the way I like to tell them.

Brittle Paper

Writers are some of the most interesting readers. What books are you into these days?

Tobi Ogundiran

I’m gearing up to write my next novel, so for scholarship, I’ve turned to Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer, Jorge Luis Borges’ Collected Fictions, and Neil Gaiman’s literary oeuvre. For pleasure (not that the aforementioned books are not pleasurable readings) I’ve been enjoying S.A. Chakraborty’s The Adventure of Amina al-Sirafi. I’ve just read The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi, and it’s truly a wonderful book—I think everyone should read it. And of course, I’ve got an extensive collection of myths and fables from around the world which I dip into now and again.

Brittle Paper

These days, readers are spoiled with all the wonderful choices they have in books. What would you say to a reader as they decide whether to click on that pre-order link?

Tobi Ogundiran

I’d say, “Remember the first book you ever read, the one that made you a Reader, and the infinite sense of wonder it filled you with? Jackal, Jackal is that book.”

Brittle Paper

Thanks Tobi! Lovely to chat with you. Good luck on the publication of Jackal, Jackal.

Tobi Ogundiran

Thanks, Brittle Paper. Great chatting with you too!

***

Preorder Jackal, Jackal by Tobi Ogundiran: Amazon | Barnes & Noble