Nigerian author Uchenna Awoke’s highly anticipated second novel A Siege of Owls will be published by Catapult on May 12, 2026. The publisher has unveiled the stunning cover, designed by Emily Mahon with art direction by Nicole Caputo.

The novel follows Ekwe, a boy driven by hunger who resents his twelve-year-old sister for refusing marriage to a wealthy adult man who offers the family food and safety. Ekwe’s journey begins after he touches ekwukwonju, a forbidden leaf his parents warned causes entrapment in astral planes, folk magic presented as reality in the narrative.

A Siege of Owls explores violence and social upheaval in rural Nigeria through lyrical prose and comedy. The story weaves together romance, family disintegration and reformation, and the complexities of power, while examining conflicts over land, diaspora, and child marriage.

Awoke is currently the Arkansas International Writer-at-Risk Fellow. His debut novel The Liquid Eye of a Moon received widespread acclaim. NPR’s Martha Anne Toll praised his “impressive” writing and “refreshing and vivid” metaphors, calling him “[a] writer of great promise.” Publishers Weekly described it as “[a] memorable debut… shot through with Nigerian history and insights into the ways in which political and societal oppression stymie [the protagonist’s] attempts to get ahead.”

Booklist compared his style to Chinua Achebe’s, “Uchenna Awoke’s debut novel is compulsory reading for fans of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Imbolo Mbue. . .  Awoke’s style is reminiscent of Chinua Achebe’s, drawing on oral storytelling traditions and embodying the Nigerian proverbial style of speech. Yet it also has notes of Homer’s Odyssey, introducing a deity whose whims and offenses lead to tragic results for the mortals who interfere. Awoke explores a part of Nigerian culture and tradition not often examined in literature by questioning an ancient and harmful caste system, and the result is a novel that is gripping and unforgettable.”

Congratulations to Uchenna Awoke!