Lagos, Nigeria — Ouida Books is thrilled to announce the sale of the Arabic publication rights to An Abundance of Scorpions, the bestselling novel by Hadiza Isma El-Rufai. In the first deal of its kind for a woman writer from northern Nigeria, the Arabic translation rights for An Abundance of Scorpions have been acquired by Rewayat, an UAE-based publishing house that has published the translated works of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Zadie Smith, Truman Capote, Yaa Gyasi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ali Smith, Colson Whitehead, among many others.
“We can’t stop smiling. One of our goals at Ouida Books is to be able to set up a machinery that works with talented writers with a view to selling book rights internationally. One of the biggest issues that publishers in Africa face is obtaining publishing rights of books that were authored by Africans but first published in the West. The indignity we are subjected to is appalling. I feel very lucky to have worked on this book as Mrs El-Rufai’s editor,” said Lola Shoneyin, the Publisher at Ouida Books.
First published in October 2017, An Abundance of Scorpions has been described by Helon Habila as “Both a heartbreaking tale of loss and an uplifting story of a woman’s strength and determination.” It tells the story of Tambaya, a woman who tries to rebuild her life after a horrific tragedy. As noted in a Guardian Nigeria’s review: “Tambaya personifies the resilience of the Nigerian woman—strong-willed, determined, compassionate.”
In a statement from her home in Kaduna, Hadiza El-Rufai said, “I am delighted that my novel has found an additional home. Tambaya’s story resonates with readers from diverse cultures because its themes are universal. I’m excited at the opportunity to introduce the underreported aspects of Nigerian culture and way of life to new audiences. I’m proud of the team at Ouida Books for their groundbreaking work.”
Ouida Books was founded by author Lola Shoneyin in 2017. The firm has published over 16 titles, including the Etisalat Prize-winning Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo, Lambda award winner Chike Frankie Edozien’s Lives of Great Men; Helon Habila’s Travellers which was shortlisted for the 2020 James Black Memorial Prize, Hugo award-winner Nnedi Okoroafor’s Who Fears Death and the Binti Trilogy and many more.
For Molara Wood, Chief Editor at Ouida Books, “This deal reinforces the importance of translation, through which we have encountered some of the greatest books in the world. It’s also a heartening development for publishers working on the continent to push African stories to the wider world on our own terms. Hopefully we can continue the process of shifting the centre for African stories, one deal at a time. Our books are available in North Africa and the Middle East, and we are expecting more offers to come through. What’s really exciting with this development is that Arabic readers everywhere can read Tambaya’s story in their own language.”
Ouida Books imprints include Tanja, Cognix, LWM and Tevani. Poets Dami Ajayi and Logan February have been published by the Ouida Poetry imprint.
