Harper Inspire signs Nigerian chess prodigy's story

Harper Inspire has signed the story of chess prodigy Tani Adewumi, who fled Nigeria with his family after their lives came under threat from Boko Haram.

Affiliate publisher Rose Sandy acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein. My Name Is Tani will be published on 17th September 2020.

Film rights have been already optioned by Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show”, through his Day Zero production company and Paramount Pictures.

Its synopsis explains: “When the Adewumis arrived in New York City with nothing in 2017, they were living in a homeless shelter. Tani, then just six years old, showed an interest in his school’s chess club, but his parents couldn’t afford the $330 joining fee. Once his mother explained their living situation to the school, the payment was waived. Two years after he’d started learning to play chess, Tani won the 2019 New York State Chess Championship aged eight years old. Tani’s story attracted over $250,000 of donations to his family, which was used to start the Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation.”

The book is written by the Adewumi family alongside writer Craig Borlase, co-writer of Finding Gobi (HarperCollins).

Sandy said: “In these times, it is our mission to share stories of overcoming adversity and creating hope. We are glad to be sharing this book with the rest of the world.”