Ghostroots by 'Pemi Aguda

About the book:

A debut collection of stories set in a hauntingly reimagined Lagos where characters vie for freedom from ancestral ties.

In this beguiling collection of twelve imaginative stories set in Lagos, Nigeria, ’Pemi Aguda dramatizes the tension between our yearning to be individuals and the ways we are haunted by what came before.

Praise:

"'In Ghostroots, the delightful speculative conceits of the stories are elegantly, even architecturally, balanced with the gorgeous fullness of human emotion, all the hunger and longing and fear and delight of being a human being in the world. A wonderful collection from a truly gifted writer."

Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds

"Ghostroots is a triumph. 'Pemi Aguda’s strong storytelling skills give readers the gift of realistic characters and darkly imaginative stories that creep under your skin and stay buried there. . . . ’Pemi Aguda is now among my favorite authors."

Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory

"Ghostroots is a big, strong river. Once you are caught in its currents, you flow with it no matter where it runs. And it runs through gorgeous and startling places."

Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Good Night, Irene

About the author:

’Pemi Aguda is an MFA graduate from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. Her writing has been published in Granta, Ploughshares, Zoetrope, and other publications, and has been awarded the O. Henry Prize for short fiction. She is from Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

'Pemi Aguda will discuss Ghostroots in conversation with Shannon Sanders.

Shannon Sanders is a Black writer and attorney and the author of the forthcoming linked short story collection Company. Sanders’s short fiction was the recipient of a 2020 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers and has appeared in several publications including One Story, TriQuarterly, Joyland, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.

Buy books:

Ghostroots by 'Pemi Aguda

Company by Shannon Sanders

Accessibility note: This event is up two flights of stairs and Lost City Books does not have an elevator.

This is a free event. RSVPs are appreciated as they help us anticipate the number of guests. Come early to get a seat!