' ... these sno-globes were something like our emotions sensations and mental emanations rendered invisible' and Taty was 'not just any sno-globe.' 

'See, when most people are receptors, you are, in fact, a transmitter...' 

'You can be tuned to create specific sensations and emotions within people - just the sight of you playing tennis in the right skirt, if amplified correctly, could be enough to kill a person'. p38

A figure crawled and crept like a gecko along the outer walls of the lifeguard station. It resembled a lanky teenage boy, except that it was possessed of slick, green skin, similar to that of a tree frog. The amphibious resemblance did not end there. The arms and legs of the being were double-, if not triple-jointed and possessed of a rubbery flexibility. An extra elbow and knee joint lent the legs and arms a vague 'z' shape when they flexed. When the creature stopped moving, these limbs folded up like wet origami and it assumed a sickening sort of yogic position, not unlike that of a grasshopper. Another dramatic feature of the thing were its long antennae, which quivered in spasms upon its head. The antennae themselves were gigantic and feathery, like a moth's, fluttering spastically against surfaces. The eyes of the symbiote were disproportionate, bulbous and reflective, Nictitating membranes licked across their surfaces while complex sets of mandibles operated below. Someone had dressed the thing in loud, neon surf shorts, whether for a joke or modesty it was hard to tell. (p85)

The Soft House. © Nikhil Singh

'At a time when the African story is undergoing a renaissance through the blurring of literary and genre fiction, Kwani Trust is delighted to be part of bringing Taty - a new kind of literary African heroine - into the world. Savvy, ultra-modern, Taty straddles the mediated realities of our own continent and the ground-breaking possibilities of our ongoing universal imaginaries. 

With chapter heading illustrations that match the beauty and imagination of its prose, Nikhil Singh’s Taty Went West is exactly the kind of boundary shifting novel that Kwani Trust has been looking for to build its literary fiction list’

Images via Forbidden Planet

Image via The Lake

"The five judges of the Kwani? Manuscript prize 2013 have carefully worked through a longlist of 30. These showed a wide range of styles, subjects and regional concerns. The judges were primarily looking for works that show promise in terms of the writing itself as well as the breadth and depth pf vision brought to bear by the authors. The final shortlist of seven entries reflects the overall consensus of the judges and summarises their individual interests".

"In reviewing the shortlisted stories, I'm blown away by the potential these manuscripts hold, the different styles, concerns and voices that they bring to new contemporary African literature, and further add to Kwani's fiction list. We can't wait to bring them out as novels in the region and partner with publishing houses across the continent to make them available across Africa".