Headline swoops for historian Akpan's 'fascinating' debut

Headline has swooped for When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve Queens by debut author and historian Paula Akpan.

Katie Packer, senior commissioning editor, acquired world rights from Abi Fellows at the Good Literary Agency. Billed as “a book that will give voice to the women warriors and regents across the African continent often demoted to a footnote in history”, it will be published in hardback in 2024. 

The synopsis states: “When We Ruled will offer insight into the lives of the African women who ruled corners of the continent throughout the ages, breathing new life into their stories through engaging historical retellings. From the ‘Mad Queen’ Ranavalona the First of Madagascar to Nigeria’s spy queen Moremi Ojasoro, from the Asante warrior leader Nana Yaa Asantewaa to the Burundi's queen Ririkumutima who arranged the assassination of a fellow wife in order to seize the throne, the stories will grapple with the lives and complexities of these women's reigns. Alongside retelling their histories, When We Ruled will firmly locate these queens in the here and now, with interviews with women who grew up in their lands knowing these figures, describing why they remain so important to their cultures today.” 

Akpan is a historian, freelance journalist and director of the Black Queer Travel Guide website. She is currently completing her MA in Black British history. Her journalism mainly focuses on Blackness, queerness, contemporary history and social politics and she regularly writes for publications including Vogue, Teen Vogue, VICE UK, the Independent, Stylist, Refinery29, Bustle and more. 

She said: “I'm so excited to get to work on these histories and critically examine the women behind these reigns. I want to contribute to a space that engages with these queens and warriors wholly, beyond flattening, mythologising and martyrising them. The work will be guided by African scholars and experts, as well as women and femmes who have grown up absorbing these legacies and I cannot wait to pool together their incredible insights and personal stories. I'm extremely grateful to Katie and Headline for entrusting me with this work and I can't wait to see how it evolves.”

Packer said: “I’ve long been a fan of Paula’s work platforming and creating empowering spaces for Black queer women, and her work as a historian is equally as inspiring. It’s an honour to be working on this book with her and to learn more about the fascinating histories of women in the African continent, I have no doubt they will explode off the page in technicolour.”