Dialogue lands Sekyiamah’s ‘reclamation of traditional African sexual knowledge and practices’

Dialogue has signed We Need to Talk About Sex by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, author of The Sex Lives of African Women (Dialogue).

Sharmaine Lovegrove, m.d., acquired UK, Europe and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Robert Caskie at Robert Caskie Ltd. We Need to Talk About Sex will be published in spring 2025.

The publisher’s synopsis reads: “Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah is on a quest to encourage African women across the globe to live their best sex lives. As co-founder of the sex-positive feminist blog "Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women", she has promoted sexual pleasure for African women for over a decade.

“In this book she shares lessons she’s learnt along the way, and insights gained from research and conversations with sex-positive African feminists, as well as knowledge gained from a series of sexual freedom workshops she has run with diverse groups of women.

“We Need to Talk About Sex also excavates and reclaims traditional African sexual knowledge and practices in ways that can serve the contemporary African woman. Nana recounts conversations with women who hold responsibilities for organising traditional practices such as the "dipo puberty rites" in Ghana and the Sengas (traditional marriage counsellors) in Uganda. And each chapter of the book ends with a bulleted list of journal prompts, and exercises that you can do on their own to find your own way towards sexual liberation.”

Sekyiamah said: “I am so excited to be working on this new book. In many ways it represents Sankofa — an opportunity to explore indigenous African knowledge around sex and sexualities, and what lessons and practices these hold for our contemporary times. Part of my process for this book involves holding collective workshops and conversations in community, and this journey of learning has already been so enjoyable and rewarding in and of itself."

She added: "I am delighted to be working with my incredible agent Robert Caskie, my publisher and editor Sharmaine Lovegrove and the entire Dialogue Books team to bring We Need to Talk About Sex to the world in 2025.”

Lovegrove commented: “Nana is a formidable force bringing sex and African women to the fore. For centuries Black women have been sexualised for our looks with zero consideration in how we seek and desire pleasure. Nana has changed that for good and her brave and bold narratives are the embodiment of enlightened empowerment and as a reader, publisher and Black woman I am grateful for all she is and all she does.”