In her captivating memoir Through the Leopard's Gaze, Njambi McGrath details the harrowing circumstances of her life as a young girl in Kenya, who one fateful night was beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Thirteen-year-old Njambi, fearing her assailant would return to finish her, courageously escaped, walking through the night in the Kenyan countryside, risking wild animals, robbers and murderers, before being picked up by two shabbily dressed but safe men. She buries the memories of that fateful day and night, and years later ends up in London with a British husband and children. Then one day a simple unassuming wedding invitation arrives in her mailbox causing her to have to confront the remnants of a past she had thought was behind her.

This is a book about survival, and courage when all else fails. It's a searingly honest examination of human cruelty and strength in equal measure.

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019, a powerful, well-researched, fictional account exploring the trokosi tradition for the curious and the open-minded.

Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father, following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is enslaved within the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and learn to trust and love again. In the tradition of Chris Cleave's Little Bee, Praise Song for the Butterflies is a contemporary story that offers an educational, eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa. Spanning decades and two continents, Praise Song for the Butterflies is an unflinching tale of the devastation that children are subject to when adults are ruled by fear and someone must pay the consequences.

"Abeo is unrelenting - a fiery protagonist who sparks in every scene. Bernice L. McFadden has created yet another compelling story, this time about hope and freedom." Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun

Betty Trask Award winner 2016.

A stunning debut from the author of Speak Gigantular.

A fragile outsider living in London, Joy struggles to pull the threads of her life back together after her mother's sudden death. Emptiness consumes her and, needing to fill the gaps of her loss, she finds she is drawn to a unique artefact inherited from her mother - a warrior's head cast in brass that belonged to a king in eighteenth century Benin, Nigeria.

Joy is haunted by a beautiful young woman who appears in her photographs, familiar yet beguilingly distinct, the woman trails her wherever she goes. Joy begins to dream of a different time, a different place. She feels an inexplicable pull towards this mysterious female, and a past revealing itself through clues is scattered in her path. As family secrets come to light, she unearths the ties between her mother, grandfather, the wife of the king, a fearsome warrior, and the brass head's pivotal connection to them all.

Haunting and compelling, Butterfly Fish is a richly told story of love and hope; of family secrets, power, political upheaval, loss and coming undone.

'a novel of epic proportions... I fully expect to see Butterfly Fish on many an award nomination list.' Yvvette Edwards

'A stunningly well-written book, juggling different timescales with great skill. Benin itself is vividly imagined in a historical narrative that runs in parallel with the contemporary London one. It is a wonderful novel." Simon Brett OBE

'A wonderful, richly drawn novel, cleverly juxtaposing scenes from everyday London with African folklore and mysticism.' Joanne Harris

'If by some chance you happen on these letters, know that I waited for you. And if you don't find me, it is not because I stopped waiting...'

While chasing a rogue football, Fatima crosses paths with Bessem and the instant attraction between the two propels them into a life-changing romance. Despite an atmosphere of threat due to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships in their home country of Cameroon, Fatima and Bessem persevere in living out their love. All seems to be going well, until one day tragedy strikes, and Fatima disappears...

Thirteen years later, Bessem is now a university professor, keeping her sexuality secret but bonding with her equally-closeted friend Jamal and the queer community around her. But Fatima still haunts her. A chance encounter with people from her past, pushes Bessem to finally go after the truth of her lover's whereabouts.

Told mostly through unsent letters, These Letters End in Tears, powerfully charts all the different ways that love, despite all odds, can persevere.

An incisive novel laying bare the contradictory societal response to gender, sex and redemption. Rinsing Mũkami's Soul looks at revenge as a powerful tool for reclamation when young Mũkami's carefully ordered life is cruelly thrust into scandal.

Njambi McGrath, award winning author of Through the Leopard's Gaze, delivers this stunning debut novel examining the validity of fury as response when a young Kenyan girl's mistakes in first love are ruthlessly held against her by a paternalistic society.

Mũkami is a young scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school. She has a clear path ahead of her, but a deceptive smile, a school expulsion and an impossible pregnancy see her well ordered life hurtling towards complete and utter disarray.

Facing disappointment from her family and finding that innocence is not a strong enough place from which to mount a defence, she declares revenge. This charged novel asks us to question why girls and women are often left to fight for justice from lonely places in societies that prefer them silenced.