Olufunke Grace Bankole’s debut novel The Edge of Water, published by Tin House, will be coming to bookstores in February 2025! Through heartbreak, longing, promise, and romance, The Edge of Water tells the story of a young woman’s courage to leave everything familiar behind and the profound impact her journey has on her family.

In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a chilling prophecy warning of danger awaiting her daughter in America. Despite the ominous prediction, she supports her daughter’s dreams, and Amina arrives in New Orleans brimming with hope. However, just as Amina begins to settle into her new life, a devastating hurricane threatens to shatter her dreams and upend the lives of those she loves. Years later, Amina’s daughter grapples with unanswered questions about her mother and the family she left behind in Nigeria. Olufunke Grace Bankole’s debut novel, The Edge of Water, explores the complex bond between a determined mother and her daughter, separated by distance and misunderstandings. The novel delves into themes of Yoruba Christianity, traditional religion, and folklore, weaving a captivating tale of three generations of daring women.

Olufunke Grace Bankole is a Nigerian American writer. A Harvard graduate, her work has been met with renown. She has been granted the  Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship and Oregon Literary Fellowship, in addition to winning the first-place prize in the Glimmer Train Short-Story Award for New Writers, and was the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in Fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. 

Pre-order the novel here!