Nape à Motana’s latest novel, Babatunde’s Heroic Journey, has been long listed for the The Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, one of South Africa’s most prestigious annual literary awards.
This is the 19th year of the Sunday Times fiction prize, named for Barry Ronge, the arts commentator who was one of the founders of the Sunday Times literary awards. The awards are for works of “rare imagination and style … a tale so compelling as to become an enduring landmark of contemporary fiction.”
The judges this year are Ken Barris (Chair ), writer, editor and photographer; Nancy Richards, independent journalist; and Wamuwi Mbao, writer, essayist, and book reviewer.
Babatunde’s Heroic Journey: from Nigeria to Ukraine via Russia
An exciting new novel from South African author, Nape Motana. Babatunde’s Heroic Journey is the story of Babatunde Okoronkwo, a Nigerian recipient of a Russian scholarship who does not return to his country once his schooling is complete. As the Soviet flag tumbles into a new epoch, he is consumed by zeal to be part of the transformation of a new society. He raises his hand and says, “Here am I, send me!”—having no idea where the answer to that prayer might lead him.
Hungry crocodiles trail him on his tortuous journey, determined to make minced meat of him and his dream. But Babatunde refuses to give in, even if following his faith is like signing a death warrant. The burden becomes back-breaking, so he asks to be blessed with a strong back.
When he’s eager to shout, “Hallelujah,” he senses a teeth-gnashing villain behind his back. And he’s reminded that the tiger is not tame and never changes its spots. When he reaches the point of no return, he ignores both real and false alarms—because he has something to learn about being an African hero in Ukraine.
More information is available about the book here:
On the publisher’s website
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For libraries, bookstores, and other bulk orders contact
[email protected]
To request review copies, visit
https://sulisinternational.com.com/request-review-copy
About the Author
Nape Motana is the author of three novels, Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, Son-in-Law of the Boere, Hamba Sugar Daddy, and a non-fiction work, Sepedi Proverbs. His poem, ‘Love Conquers All,’ is published in The 2017 New England Poetry Anthology. Fanie Fourie’s Lobola was adapted into a movie which won the Jozi Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival Audience Choice Awards. Hamba Sugar Daddy was adapted into a stage play.
Babatunde’s Heroic Journey: From Nigeria to Ukraine via Russia, is his fourth novel, a project which was submitted for his Ph.D. Creative Writing at the University of Pretoria.
Nape has worked as a social worker, journalist, and a copywriter. In the 1980s he worked as a poet-playwright, short story writer, and an anti-apartheid activist. He lives in Pretoria, South Africa, and is married with four children.
About Keledei Publications
Stories are the music of our lives—they connect us and speak to us in ways that nonfiction cannot. An imprint of Sulis International, Riversong Books publishes historical, literary, contemporary, science fiction, fantasy, and religious fiction that not only entertain, but allow readers to question, celebrate, and explore what it means to be human. Riversong also publishes reprints, both out-of-print novels or older works not readily available in print or eBook form.
For information on submitting manuscripts, visit
https://sulisinternational.com.com/submit-a-manuscript/
For more, contact Sulis International.
+1 805-910-7714
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