Penguin scoops 'exquisite' poetry collection from Theresa Lola

Penguin has scooped Theresa Lola’s "lyrical" Ceremony for the Nameless, an "exquisite" collection of poems about the diasporic experience. 

Senior commissioning editor Donald Futers and Penguin Press’ publishing director Chloe Currens acquired world all-language rights from Lisette Verhagen at Peters Fraser + Dunlop. The book will be published on the Penguin Contemporary Poetry list on 7th November 2024.

"Theresa has written a strikingly rich set of poems, cementing her as one of the most promising poets of her generation," said Verhagen. "The book is a ceremony itself, a joyous event, and with Penguin publishing, the book will be in the best possible hands." 

Lola is a British-Nigerian poet and writer and was appointed Young People’s Laureate for London 2019-2020. In Ceremony for the Nameless, she draws on naming ceremonies from Yoruba culture to question the "realities of her dual Nigerian-British identity...and explores the ways our journey through life might require us to cast off old expectations". 

Lola said: "This book has been a joy to write and live with – my most inquisitive yet. I am thrilled it has found a home at Penguin. From the very first moment, it became clear we shared the same vision for the collection and it’s an honour to be joining Penguin’s rich history of esteemed authors. I can’t wait for readers to experience this book and to find their own ceremony within it." 

Currens and Futers added: "This is a roving, musical book of poetry in which Theresa Lola explores profound questions – of identity and dislocation, of nationhood and independence, of the duties of belonging and the freedoms of the self – with characteristic aplomb. Her voice brings vivid life to scenes of celebration and desolation. Here, the unceremoniously buried receive their proper burial; the nameless get their ceremony. There is marriage, dancing, birth – all the colour at the earth’s core. It’s stunning, assured work. We’re thrilled to be publishing it on the Penguin poetry list."