Head of Zeus acquires Åkerström debut

Head of Zeus has acquired In Every Mirror She's Black, the debut novel by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström.

Editor Clare Gordon acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Jessica Craig, at Craig Literary for publication in hardback and e-book on 3rd February 2022. It will be published in the US & Canada in September 2021 by Sourcebooks.

The publisher said: “In Every Mirror She’s Black follows three Black women whose lives become intertwined through their relationships with the same wealthy white man. Kemi is the marketing campaign star he hires to save his firm’s reputation after a disastrous racially insensitive ad campaign. Brittany is the model-turned-flight-attendant he plucks from her normal life and lavishes with wealth and affection. And Muna is the refugee, just granted asylum, who cleans his office building. Through the stories of these three women, In Every Mirror She’s Black explores issues of race, sexuality, class and belonging in imminently readable prose.”

Åkerström is a Nigerian-American author, speaker, and photographer based in Sweden. Her work has been featured by National Geographic, the BBC, CNN, Guardian, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, New York Times and Lonely Planet.

She said: “Finding an editor who fully gets In Every Mirror She’s Black and its unique voice was extremely important for me. I am beyond ecstatic and grateful to have found that home with Clare Gordon and thrilled to be joining the Head of Zeus family in the UK.”

Gordon added: “I devoured In Every Mirror She’s Black over the course of a weekend, lost in the worlds of Kemi, Brittany and Muna. They each felt so real and their voices stayed with me long after I finished reading. I can’t wait for readers to meet them."