Viking scoops ‘miraculous’ début by Ibeh in exclusive submission

Viking has scooped a “miraculous” début by 22-year-old Chukwuebuka Ibeh, which tells the story of a young gay man’s coming-of-age in 2010s Nigeria. 

Isabel Wall, editorial director, acquired world English rights to Blessings from Emma Leong at Janklow & Nesbit in an exclusive submission. It will publish in spring 2024.  

The synopsis says: “When Obiefuna’s father witnesses an intimate moment between his teenage son and the family’s apprentice, newly arrived from the nearby village, he banishes Obiefuna to a strict Christian boarding school. Surrounded by unknown faces that soon become friends, lovers and enemies, Obiefuna finds and hides who he truly is, while his mother Uzoamaka grapples to hold on to her favourite son, her truest friend. Leaving school as a young man, Nigeria criminalises same-sex relationships – and Obiefuna’s life, or the life he wants to live, becomes even harder to envision – out of a reach in a way that is more dangerous and tangible than before.” 

Ibeh is from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. His writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, the New England Review of Books and Lolwe, among others, and he is a staff writer at Brittle Paper. He is a student on a fully funded MFA programme at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, until 2024. 

Wall said: “I first came across Chukwuebuka’s writing two years ago – I read a stunningly moving short story of his online and immediately contacted him to ask if he’d ever thought of writing a novel. His talent is unmistakable. I could not be prouder to be bringing his miraculous début into the world.” 

Ibeh said: “There are no words to describe the elation I feel in finally introducing this novel to the world. I’ve long been interested in the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014, and in interrogating how unprovoked, cynical politics can impact ordinary lives. Blessings equally engages themes that are at the core of my writing: parental love, the question of self-hood, friends and friendships, loneliness and longing. It is a joy for me to have the novel find a home at Viking, particularly through Isabel Wall whose editorial work I have long admired.” 

Leong also commented: “Chukwuebuka’s writing feels masterful, his prose wise and instinctive. The stars aligned with what was clearly the beginning of his book career, also having read the same short story deep into lockdown, there was an immediacy to his writing, and seeing Isabel champion this from the get-go, there was no hesitation that her and the team at Viking would be the perfect home to launch his début.”