Interview: Sade Adeniran
Molara Wood talks to Sade Adeniran, author of 'Imagine This' – winner of Best First Book, Africa Region in the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize.
You were on a writer’s panel discussing ‘The Publishing Maze’ recently. Can you describe the maze you had to navigate to get your novel out?
Where to start? The manuscript took 5 years to write and when I finished, I gave it to friends and acquaintances to read. Their feedback gave me the courage to submit to publishers. I did this with little success, however some of the replies were encouraging. I figured I needed a new strategy; so I went into self-publishing. I remember reading about GP Taylor who self-published, then got a book deal. I thought, that could be me. I knew nothing about the business; I was just focused on getting the book out. So I got myself an ISBN number, found a printer, learnt about book formats and paper, got an editor and proof-reader and cajoled a friend into designing not only the book but also my website.
That was the easy bit. Getting 'Imagine This' into bookshops was a Herculean task that I never managed to solve. So I called up Independent bookshops like Crockatt & Powell, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights and The Pan Bookshop (before it closed). After seeing the finished product and reading 'Imagine This', C&P and Mr B’s ordered copies and are pushing the book. It's available on Amazon; and you can place orders for copies from WH Smiths, Borders and Waterstones.
And now the book is on the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize shortlist.
I know, it’s been unbelievable. I keep pinching myself and going to the website just to make sure I’m not dreaming, and that it's really my name and book up there. Winning to me would make all the tribulations of the last year worthwhile. I’m also hoping it means I’ll finally be able to shift the copies under my bed.
The first half of the novel shows a detailed knowledge of village life, but that life is cast in a largely negative light.
Life is life and it’s not always positive; unfortunately, not everyone gets to live a fairytale existence. Life in a Nigerian village can be harsh and restrictive, it’s why you have people flocking to the cities and overcrowding those. My uncle was a cocoa farmer but he never had any money because he never got a decent price for his crop. None of his children have stayed in the village to run the farm, because they want a better life.
There are strong hints of lived experience in ‘Imagine This’. Is there an autobiographical aspect to it?
No, it’s not autobiographical. But it is taken from my experience of living in the village. I grew up in Idogun and the customs, taboos and superstitions I describe all existed back then. Things may have changed now, but I doubt it. What happened to Lola didn’t happen to me, but I imagined it happened to me and I guess that’s what resonates with readers.
The “thud of the earth” on coffins is a constant, as “death enrobes” yet another character – there is a lot of dying in this story.
Death is a reality of life and the only guarantee we have. The death of a loved one changes a person’s outlook on life; the deaths in the book affect Lola in different ways and change her as a person.
A distracted father towers over the novel, but is it more about the loss of a mother?
Mothers are really important in the development of a child’s life. 'Imagine This' explores the African notion of the extended family and the whole idea of a village raising a child and the shocking consequences that can ensue as a result. It’s normal practice to send children away to wealthier relatives; a majority of them end up working as servants for the privilege of a roof over their head and food in their stomachs.
Lola's journal touches on significant moments of Nigerian history. Did you do a lot of research?
As a writer, I hate doing research, it takes ages to check and cross check. Personally I’d rather just imagine, but couldn’t because of the journal nature of the book. I had to make sure dates tallied and events took place on the day or in the month stated. The football and Olympic stories were the easiest to check; FIFA and the Olympic body keep extensive records. It was a little bit trickier trying to find out when certain laws were passed, who passed them and weaving those into the story to give authenticity.
A sequel, 'Imagine That', is in the works; the publishing maze should be less daunting next time round.
This is another reason I’m so happy I’ve been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize. I didn’t realise there was such a stigma attached to self-publishing when I published ‘Imagine This’; the reasoning is that if you had to do it yourself, it can’t possibly be any good. I’m hoping that being shortlisted for a major prize will make it easier to get my book read by an agent or publisher.