Why am I passionate about this?

It took years of being an undercover writer turned book blogger for me to realize just how much of what's considered African fiction is Western publishers' profiteering efforts to churn out novels centered on colonial trauma after postcolonial trauma tailored to white audiences. When does the African reader get a break? When do we read books that aren't geared towards African pain? When I set out to write my book, I wanted to write a novel that documented the rot in publishing and how commercialisation of the post-colonial trauma trend has been to the detriment of not just the African reader but African writers as well. 


I wrote

No One Dies Yet

By Kobby Ben Ben,

Book cover of No One Dies Yet

What is my book about?

My novel is largely a commentary on the types of books that publishers typically seek from African authors.

Its central…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Most Secret Memory of Men

Kobby Ben Ben Why did I love this book?

There are few publications that document how publishing makes it impossible for African authors to have the same possibilities as their white counterparts.

This is a great book about a young writer's obsession with a scandalised author and the reasons behind the latter's disappearance. The writing has an incantational cadence that is truly stunning, and Sarr never relents in his critique of the unsavoury treatment of African authors by Western publishers.

By Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Lara Vergnaud (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Most Secret Memory of Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paris, 2018. Diegane Latyr Faye, a young Senegalese writer, discovers a legendary book titled The Maze of Inhumanity. It has an immediate hold over him. No one knows what happened to the author, T.C. Elimane, who was accused of plagiarism, his reputation destroyed by the critics.

Obsessed with discovering the truth about Elimane's disappearance, Faye weaves past and present, countries and continents, following the author's labyrinthine trail from Senegal to Argentina and France and confronting the great tragedies of history.

Will he get to the truth at the centre of the maze?

A gripping literary quest novel and a masterpiece…


Book cover of Yellowface

Kobby Ben Ben Why did I love this book?

It's easy to begin this novel and finish it in one sitting. A page-turner in every sense of the word with a message that will resonate with writers from marginalised backgrounds.

One white author steals the work of her dead Asian friend and passes it off as hers. This book is shocking, twisty, unputdownable. 

By R. F. Kuang,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked Yellowface as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller from literary sensation R.F. Kuang

*A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick*

'Propulsive' SUNDAY TIMES

'Razor-sharp' TIME

'A wild ride' STYLIST

'Darkly comic' GQ

'A riot' PANDORA SYKES

'Hard to put down, harder to forget' STEPHEN KING

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.

White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.

Dark humour
But as evidence threatens June's stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she…


Book cover of The Other Black Girl

Kobby Ben Ben Why did I love this book?

This book came at a time when publishing was receiving a lot of flack for its treatment of editors. This book touches on themes such as the toxic work environment for editors, again, how editors from marginalised backgrounds can barely survive in the recent publishing ecosphere.

But also, it's got a very Get Out—esque twist that readers will never see coming!

By Zakiya Dalila Harris,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Other Black Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Hating Game

Kobby Ben Ben Why did I love this book?

This sweet enemies-to-lovers rom-com book will make you laugh and seethe with anger; the tension from the leads will make you squirm and put you on the edge of your seat.

At its heart is the story of a publishing merger and the extreme lengths editors on both sides will go to get promoted or prevent getting laid off.

By Sally Thorne,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Hating Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love. Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome. 2) A person's undoing 3) Joshua Templeman Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She's charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual. Trapped in a shared office together forty…


Book cover of Luster

Kobby Ben Ben Why did I love this book?

Though this book is largely about the toxic extramarital affair between a young black girl and a married white man, it shines light on the competitive work environment between editors in publishing.

It also becomes satire in its depiction of what kind of works from Black authors publishers are keen on commissioning. Cue in its critique of the proliferation of slave narratives in publishing, and this funny, sexy, and deeply sad novel will leave a huge mark on readers. 

By Raven Leilani,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Luster as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

WINNER of the NBCC John Leonard Prize, the Kirkus Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2020
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, The New York Times Book Review, O Magazine, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, Shondaland, Boston Globe, and many more!

"So delicious that it feels illicit . . . Raven Leilani’s first novel reads like summer: sentences like ice that crackle or…


Explore my book 😀

No One Dies Yet

By Kobby Ben Ben,

Book cover of No One Dies Yet

What is my book about?

My novel is largely a commentary on the types of books that publishers typically seek from African authors.

Its central plot revolves around two tour guides (Nana and Kobby) who despise each other and are certain that one of them will die by the end of the novel. They record the experiences of three African-American visitors visiting Ghana during the Year of Return to explore the preserved transatlantic slave trade sites as well as the underground LGBT scene. 

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Book cover of What You Made Me Do

Barbara Gayle Austin Author Of What You Made Me Do

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Why am I passionate about this?

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What is my book about?

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What is this book about?

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