Erhu Kome writes from a place of deep cultural specificity. She grew up in Benin City, comes from the Urhobo people of Nigeria’s Niger Delta, and has built a body of work that moves across young adult fantasy, bizarro fiction, romance, and magical realism; anchored always in the myths, traditions, and landscapes she calls home. Her debut novel, The Smoke That Thunders, published by Norton Young Readers in 2024, follows sixteen-year-old Naborhi as she is guided by gods and drawn into a continent-spanning quest rooted in Urhobo folklore. The book earned a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Tome Society Book Award, a Children’s Africana Book Awards Honor Book citation, a place on Brittle Paper’s 100 Notable African Books list, and a shortlist nod at the 2025 Nommo Awards — the continent’s premier prize for African speculative fiction. She is also, distinctly, the first Nigerian female author of bizarro fiction to be shortlisted for the Nommo Awards.

But Kome has never been just a writer. She runs the E.K. Mentorship Program for unpublished female Nigerian children’s writers, organised the inaugural Storytellers Writing Retreat, and has navigated, with characteristic determination, the full gauntlet of publishing models: traditional publishing with Norton, self-publishing, Nigerian editions through Narrative Landscape Press, and a hard-won battle to reclaim the rights to her novella Not Seeing Is a Flower. Now, with a UK Global Talent visa secured and a new chapter beginning in Northumbria, Kome sits down with the Brittle Paper team to talk about late beginnings and early instincts, the strange alchemy of Urhobo mythology and bizarro fiction, what the publishing industry owes African writers and often withholds, and what it means to carry a homeland inside you when home is suddenly an ocean away.

Brittle Paper 

Hello Erhu. Congratulations on securing the UK Global Talent visa! That’s a huge achievement. You’re the first Nigerian female author of bizarro fiction to be shortlisted for the Nommo Awards. That’s a distinction worth unpacking. What drew you to bizarro in the first place? And how does it sit alongside the Urhobo folklore and West African mythology that grounds so much of your work?

Erhu Kome
I didn’t know the bizarro genre existed until I went searching for a publisher. I’ve always been drawn to the weird, the supernatural, and the magical aspects of entertainment. So when the idea of the world literally being sustained by love came to me, I ran with it. And I infused as much of the fantastical and bizarre as I could into it. I tend to draw inspiration for my fantasy stories from Urhobo folklore and West African mythology because there’s so much magic and wonder in them. I am utterly fascinated. It should come as no surprise to see more of our mythology in my future works.
Brittle Paper 
You come from the Urhobo tribe and grew up in Benin City. Your work is deeply rooted in those specificities. How do you balance writing stories anchored in Urhobo culture while also making them accessible to readers, Nigerian or otherwise, who may have no prior familiarity with these traditions?
Erhu Kome
Readers may have no prior familiarity with certain cultures and traditions, but they will relate to human experiences. A girl who wants to be more than what the society she grew up in tells her she can be is a human experience most people can relate to. It’s about writing the human experience within the culture.
Brittle Paper 
The Smoke That Thunders is steeped in Urhobo traditions and mythology. We are curious about your process. How do you take oral traditions, spiritual concepts, and cultural knowledge that might be unfamiliar to many readers and render them legible without stripping them of their power or specificity?
Erhu Kome
I guess my process is to see it as the norm. I grew up as a Christian and hearing the stories in the Bible didn’t seem strange. Praying to God doesn’t seem strange and unfamiliar. So when I write about other spiritual concepts, I just write it the way I’d write about going to Bible Study. My character offering a silver coin to a lightning god, and ferry men taking a day off no matter what to honour the sea goddess is just a regular old thing in the world I created.
Brittle Paper 
You’ve navigated multiple publishing paths: traditional publishing with Norton, self-publishing, Nigerian editions through Narrative Landscape, and you even fought to reclaim rights to Not Seeing Is A Flower. That’s a lot of different models. What has each path taught you? And which one feels most aligned with where you want your career to go?
Erhu Kome
Each path has taught me patience. And that I’m the best advocate for my stories. For now, I’m focusing on a hybrid model of publishing. There are stories I’ve written I want to be traditionally published, and which I know can get the attention of editors. The others won’t even get queried.
Brittle Paper 
Speaking of reclaiming rights, that experience with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) and the African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS) sounds intense. What did it teach you about how the publishing industry treats African writers? And what would you tell other Nigerian writers about protecting their work and understanding their contracts?
Erhu Kome
Oh it was very intense. And I’m so glad it worked out in the end. The experience taught me that some publishers will want writers to accept less than the bare minimum because we should be grateful to have been published. Going through all that headache made me more conscious of what goes into contracts. It made me understand the value of protecting intellectual property.
I’d tell Nigerian writers to be more strategic about ownership and distribution of their works. To go through contracts with a fine-toothed comb, or have someone more contract savvy to go through it before they sign anything. I’d also tell Nigerian writers to advocate for themselves and their stories with more confidence. Your story matters and it should be treated with respect.
Brittle Paper 
Your E.K Mentorship Program is specifically for unpublished Nigerian female writers living in Nigeria. That’s very intentional. What gaps or silences from your own coming-up as a writer are you trying to address? What do you wish someone had shown you or told you earlier?
Erhu Kome
Yes, it’s very intentional. For unpublished Nigerian female writers, the barriers are much. From geographical, to the economical. I want my mentees to approach this creative industry with clarity. I wish someone had told me there was more to just the stories we weave. As a writer who wanted to write long term, it would have benefitted me to know more about contracts, marketing, target audience and genre expectations.
I want my mentees to feel seen, and for them not to shrink their voices. Especially if their voice doesn’t fit literary boxes that’s easily exported. I also want them to have access to information, information I had to learn the hard way. And through it all, to be encouraged by me.
Brittle Paper
You describe yourself as someone who loves anime and reads “books that are a little bit odd.” I love that. How do those influences—Japanese storytelling, weird fiction, speculative traditions outside the Western canon—show up in your work? Are there specific anime or books that have directly shaped how you approach narrative?
Erhu Kome
Yes, a few of them actually. One of such books is The Concubine by Elechi Amadi. It’s my favourite romance book ever. That ending though 😭. The second book is also by Elechi Amadi. It’s called The Great Ponds and it inspired my very first middle grade story which I hope to get traditionally published.
I love the way Elechi Amadi wrote his books. So simple and so eloquent. He added speculative elements so casually you’d believe that’s exactly how the world works.
As for anime, I always say Mangakas are the the most creative and talented people in the world. Take Yuki Urushibara for instance who wrote and illustrated Mushishi. My God. It’s such a beautiful body of work with a magic I’d never seen before. The anime is stunning. It recently inspired me to write a magical realism romance where my main character, like Ginko, possesses the ability to see certain things in nature that affect humans. I loved, loved, writing that story.
Brittle Paper
Now that you’re in the UK, how are you thinking about maintaining creative access to the landscapes, languages, and cultural realities that have shaped your storytelling? Is there a risk of becoming disconnected from the source material that makes your work distinctive, or do you see distance as something that might deepen your relationship to it?
Erhu Kome
I actually see distance deepening my connection to home. I already miss Nigeria, lol. That longing I feel will be channeled toward more stories showcasing more of our mythology and cultural heritage.
Brittle Paper
The Smoke That Thunders has racked up some serious accolades—Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Tome Society Book Award, Children’s Africana Book Awards Honor Book, Brittle Paper’s 100 Notable African Books and was shortlisted for the Nommo Awards 2025. What have these recognitions meant for you? Do they change how you approach your work, or are they just nice confirmations of something you already knew?
Erhu Kome
I try not to let accolades dictate what I write. Today I’ll write an Urban Fantasy, tomorrow I can attempt writing literary fiction. Who knows? I like to surprise my readers. The accolades have meant a great deal to me. Because they come from institutions that engage deeply and meaningfully with stories. The recognitions are a good reminder that stories steeped in our cultures and traditions resonate far beyond our shores. It encourages me to keep at it.
Brittle Paper
Last question: You’ve said you write “stories filled with magic and sometimes a few stories without magic, which in its own way is sort of magical.” As you prepare for this big geographic and professional transition, what kind of magic are you most interested in exploring next?
Erhu Kome
Being in Northumbria has made me curious about how specific places have their own mythologies, folklore and ghost stories. I’d love to explore the possibility of a conversation between Urhobo mythology and the mythology of where I’m living. Perhaps culminating in a fantasy world readers will want to get lost in.
Brittle Paper

Thank you for chatting with us, Erhu, and congratulations on everything—the new landscape, your recognitions, and all the work still to come. All the best from all of us at Brittle Paper.

Erhu Kome

THANK YOU!