Join author Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ to celebrate the publication of their debut novel, Dazzling.

The event will initially be broadcast on 16 February at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.

Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure’s daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back - but she has to do something for him first.

Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can’t be scratched. An itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it’s one she couldn’t want less.

But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their fathers’ decisions, Ozoemena’s fellow students at her new boarding school start to vanish. Treasure and Ozoemena will face terrible choices as each must ask herself: in a world that always says ‘no’ to women, what must two young girls sacrifice to get what is theirs?

Chịkọdịlị was the winner of the Curtis Brown First Novel Prize in 2019, her work has also been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards, a Nommo Award and the Caine Prize for African Fiction. Dazzling is an unmissable, transportive debut perfect for fans of Chigozie Obioma, Abi Daré and Deepa Anappara. This special virtual event will delve into all things magical realism, Chịkọdịlị’s writing process and the inspirations for the novel. Don’t miss this event!

Bursting with magic, bright and visceral. Jennifer Saint

A feast of shimmering, beautiful prose. Chika Unigwe