Our regular Book Digest segment spotlights new books by José Eduardo Agualusa, Kopano Matlwa, Anote Ajeluorou, and Jasmaine Payne.
Todo Sobre Deus by José Eduardo Agualusa
Publisher: Quetzal Editores
Date: October 2025
Genre: Fiction
Language: Portuguese
Where to find it: Quetzal Editores
José Eduardo Agualusa
José Eduardo Agualusa was born in the city of Huambo, Angola, on December 13, 1960. He studied Agronomy and Forestry. He lived in Lisbon, Luanda, Rio de Janeiro, and Berlin. He is a novelist, short story writer, columnist, and author of children’s literature. His novels have been distinguished with the most prestigious national and international awards, such as, for example, the Grande Prémio de Literatura RTP (awarded to Nação Crioula, 1998); His short stories and children’s books have also won awards, such as the APE Grand Prize for Short Stories and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Grand Prize for Children’s Literature, respectively. The Past Seller won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2004, and more recently, the novel General Theory of Oblivion was a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 and the winner of the International Dublin Literary Award (formerly the IMPAC Dublin Award) in 2017.
Todo Sobre Deus
A man on the verge of death buys an abandoned church in the Namib Desert, Angola, next to a huge cliff overlooking the Atlantic. His name is Leopoldo G. Borges, a well-known and respected geologist and poet in his country. Leopoldo decides to transform the last months of his life into an excavation—not of stones, but of his own soul.
During his retreat in the mineral silence of Namib, he writes his diary, along with poems, gathering reflections, memories, visions, and omens. In the basement of the ruined chapel, Leopoldo discovers its preserved replica, where time dissolves and death seems to wait patiently. Between these two worlds, the poet searches for his missing daughter, Gaia, and for himself.
Bosadi by Kopano Matlwa
Publisher: Jacana Media
Date: October 2025
Genre: Fiction
Language: English
Where to find it: Jacana Media
Kopano Matlwa
Kopano Matlwa won the 2006/2007 European Union Award for her first novel, Coconut, which went on to become a bestseller and a classic South African novel, and subsequently jointly won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2010. Her successive novels, Spilt Milk and Period Pain, were also published to great acclaim, with Period Pain shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. Between them, her novels have been translated into close to a dozen languages. When she is not writing, Kopano works as a public health physician and is passionate about ensuring all people, especially the most disadvantaged, have a fair shot at living a healthy and fulfilling life. She holds a medical degree from the University of Cape Town, a Master’s in Global Health Science, and a DPhil (PhD) in Population Health, both from Oxford University, where she attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Kopano lives in Johannesburg with her husband and three children.
Bosadi
Naledi is a woman unravelling slowly, painfully, purposefully. Once full of promise, her life has shrunk into the claustrophobic walls of a home that no longer feels safe, with a husband whose love has curdled into something dark and dangerous. Between Instagrammable scones, lockdown picnics and a nursery that remains heartbreakingly empty, Naledi wages a quiet war against erasure of her name, her dreams, her body, and her sanity.
Aunty, the quiet force in the shadows of Naledi’s crumbling marriage, carries her own scars. A Zimbabwean domestic worker with a fierce devotion to the children she left behind, Aunty watches, waits, and bears witness. Between the two women, a fragile sisterhood grows – tender, complicated and not without its betrayals.
Told in alternating voices, Bosadi is a devastating exploration of gender, grief, immigration, violence, and the impossible expectations that swallow Black women whole.
Moonbeam edited by Anote Ajeluorou
Publisher: Narrative Landscape Press
Date: October 18, 2025
Genre: Fiction, Anthology, Short Stories
Language: English
Where to find it: Narrative Landscape Press
Anote Ajeluorou
Anote Ajeluorou graduated from the University of Benin, Benin City, where he earned a B.A. (Ed) in English and Literature in 1995. He has worked in journalism all his life, starting with the creative writing soft sell magazine Hints in the 1990s.
He is the founder of The Art Hub Nigeria.
Contributors
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Adeniyi Kunnu, Akeem Lasisi, Anote Ajeluorou, Evelyn Osagie, Gregory-Page Nwakunor, Henry Akubuiro, Jahman Anikulapo, Molara Wood, Nehru Odeh, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke, Sam Omatseye, Sumaila Umaisha, Terh Agbedeh, and Toni Kan.
Moonbeam
Moonbeam is a stirring collection of stories that reflect the intricate realities of our world, told through the eyes of some of Nigeria’s finest culture journalists. Stepping beyond the bounds of their everyday routine as journalists, these writers draw deeply from their creative wells to explore narratives that are real and relatable. From the poignant to the bizarre, the reflective to the heartwrenching, each story captures a distinct shade of the human experience. There are no easy answers here, no moral conclusions or tidy resolutions. Instead, Moonbeam offers a vivid, unflinching gaze into life as it is: beautiful, broken, bewildering. Written with honesty, humour and style, Moonbeam is a memorable anthology that shows us the many shades of what it means to be human.
Leech by Jasmaine Payne
Publisher: Jam Services
Date: September 20, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Language: English
Where to find it: Amazon
Jasmaine Payne
Jasmaine Payne is a Guyanese author, editor, and writing coach whose debut novel, Leech (2025), cements her place as the first female Guyanese writer residing in Guyana to publish a full-length psychological thriller. A lifelong storyteller, Jasmaine began writing novel-length fiction in high school and published her first poem at age 11, winning UNICEF’s Environmental Awareness Poetry Competition in 1999. She holds a BA in English from the University of London (Goldsmiths) and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Bedfordshire. With 15 years of journalism experience and over 8 years as a professional editor, Jasmaine’s work has appeared in GEM Magazine, Lady Magazine, Guyana at 50, and 50 Women 50 Years. In 2025, she received the Influential Women Leaders Award and continues to train and mentor writers across the region.
Leech
In the 1800s, John Thomas Reginald Leech believes his destiny was stolen from him. Raised idolising his father, a renowned doctor, he longs to inherit both his knowledge and his fame. But when his family and peers dismissed him, he turned to blood and fire to claim it.
More than 100 years later, Leech awakens in modern-day New York, determined to secure his place in history. He finds Arianne Smith, a struggling writer desperate for recognition, and forces her to transcribe his story promising fame in exchange. Haunted by the experience of writing the book and desperate to escape Leech, Arianne seeks help at Homer’s Home for Health and Wellness. There, Dr. Oscar Pressum tries to untangle the growing madness, but Leech’s influence grows stronger, leading to a final confrontation that threatens Arianne’s very soul.
LEECH is a story of obsession and the lengths we will go to be remembered. It asks one question: what if the story that defines you isn’t yours at all?
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