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Bloomsbury Continuum has picked up British-Nigerian journalist Jimi Famurewa’s exploration of the food, faith and culture of African London.
Imogen Pelham at Marjacq Scripts sold UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to Jamie Birkett before his move to Penguin. Settlers: Journeys Through the Food, Faith and Culture of African London will be published on 13th October 2022.
In the book, Famurewa will journey into the "hidden yet vibrant" world of African London. Seeking to understand the ties that bind African Londoners together and link them with their distinct home countries and cultures, he will visit their places of worship, sit down at their dinner tables and restaurants, visit afrobeats parties, attend Saturday schools and listen to stories.
Famurewa commented: "I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Bloomsbury Continuum and to have found a home for Settlers at a time when African diaspora culture in the UK has never been more visible, influential or ascendant. It is a book about the oft-ignored world and complicated traditions that have shaped, and continue to shape, me and so many other Black African Londoners. The bingo hall churches and market stalls; the private foster homes and suburban suya spots; those that came to study and those that arrived fleeing conflict. Propelled by immersive interviews, social history and a sprinkling of memoir, it is, really, the story of how Africans have both changed their surroundings and been fundamentally changed by modern settlement in Britain. I can’t wait to bring readers along with me for the ride."
Birkett said: "I remember first reading Jimi’s essay ‘Mother Tongue’ in The Good Journal and instantly warming to his tightly crafted prose with its touch of humour. The story of African London he will tell in Settlers is one I have long wanted to read, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to write it."
Robin Baird-Smith, senior publisher, added: "Bloomsbury Continuum is hugely fortunate to be publishing a writer as talented, energetic and affable as Jimi."