Sefi Atta Announces New Novel The Gèlè Gang for 2027

Sefi Atta, born in Lagos in 1964, is an award-winning writer known for her storytelling about Nigerian women, families, and society. She has spent over two decades in literature, with her debut novel, Everything Good Will Come, published in 2005, which won the inaugural Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2006.

Atta's other notable works include Swallow, A Bit of Difference, The Bead Collector, and the short-story collection Lawless, which won the 2009 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. Her upcoming novel, The Gèlè Gang, is scheduled for release in February 2027 and takes a lighter approach, focusing on Nigerian-American women in Atlanta.

The story revolves around a group of friends in their fifties who attempt to find husbands for their twenty-something daughters, leading to unexpected outcomes. The novel addresses themes of marriage, motherhood, friendship, identity, and cultural expectations faced by Nigerian women across generations and borders, inspired by Atta's experiences at Nigerian weddings.