Masobe Books

Masobe Books

Categories	literature, Art, culture, interviews
Founder	Othuke Ominiabohs
Founded	2018
Country	Nigeria
Language	English
Website	www.masobebooks.com

Masobe Books is an independent Nigerian publishing company. It was founded in 2018 by Nigerian author Othuke Ominiabohs and has since become one of the leading publishers of contemporary African writing on the continent.[1][2]

Masobe is a word derived from the Isoko Language of the Isoko people who hail from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It means 'Let Us Read'.[1] The first book published under Masobe Books was Othuke Ominiabohs's debut novel, Odufa. Other imprints of Masobe Books include Makere and Oremaha [3]

Background

Masobe Books was founded in April 2018 by Nigerian author, Othuke Ominiabohs, citing a dream to support writers, significantly improve readership, and possibly revolutionize publishing in the Nigerian environment.[2]

Masobe Books tackles the typical challenges in Nigerian literature, which include poor distribution and marketing; mediocre production, especially for self-published books; readers' apathy and skepticism; and writers' disillusionment with securing commensurate publication, reward, and exposure for their work.[4]

Masobe Books is the publisher of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's debut novel, I Do Not Come To You By Chance, in Nigeria.[5] The novel set in the world of Nigerian email scams, tells the story of a young man, Kingsley, who turns to his Uncle Boniface for help in bailing his family out of poverty.

Further notable authors published under Masobe Books includes Ukamaka Olisakwe, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, T. J. Benson, Othuke Ominiabohs, Chimeka Garricks, and Michael Afenfia.[6]

Imprints

Masobe

This is the brands traditional publishing imprint for literary fiction, popular fiction and short-story collections. Masobe is a word derived from the Isoko Language of the Isoko people who hail from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It means 'Let Us Read'.[7]

Makere

Makere is a subsidy or assisted-publishing imprint of Masobe Books and Logistics Limited which publishes work in all genres.[3]

Oremaha

Oremaha is a traditional publishing imprint for children's books.[3]

Masobe Book Titles

• I Do Not Come To You By Chance and Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (December, 2019);[8]
• A Broken People’s Playlist by Chimeka Garricks (June 8, 2020);[9]
• The Mechanics of Yenagoa by Michael Afenfia (June 15, 2020);[9]
• Ogadinma, or Everything Will Be All Right by Ukamaka Olisakwe (October 19, 2020);[10]
• Dreams and Assorted Nightmares by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (October 24, 2020);[10]
• Odufa and Aviara by Othuke Ominiabohs (August 2020);[11][12]
• The Madhouse by T. J. Benson (2021);[12][11][13]
• The days of silence by Angel Patricks Amegbe (2021).[12][11][13]
• Nearly All the Men in Lagos are Mad by Damilare Kuku (2021) [14][15]

References

1. "About Us", Masobe Books, 22 July 2020.
2. The Guardian Art Editor (26 June 2019). "Masobe Books promises new era of publishing". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2020. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
3. "Our Growing Brands". 22 July 2020.
4. Simeon Mpamugoh (15 June 2019). "Masobe Books joins Nigeria's publishing industry, calls for submissions". Daily Sun. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
5. The Guardian Art Editor (13 October 2019). "Masobe books list new authors, books". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2020. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
6. Chukwuebuka Ibeh (13 October 2019). "Abubakar Adam Ibrahim & Ukamaka Olisakwe Join Masobe Books". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
7. "About Us". 22 July 2020.
8. Ugbaa, Jasper (8 March 2020). "Reintroducing Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's "I Do Not Come to You by Chance". The Lagos Review. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
9. Bivan, Nathaniel (21 June 2020). "News feed: masobe release two new books during the Lockdown". Retrieved 22 July 2020 – via PressReader.
10. Babatunde, Olamide (3 March 2020). "Masobe Books Introduces New Members to the Family". The Lagos Review. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
11. Bivan, Nathaniel (28 September 2019). "Nwaubani, Garricks, others sign up with Masobe Books". Daily Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
12. Babatunde, Olamide (5 October 2019). "Literary review: Masobe press unveils 6 new writers". Daily Sun. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
13. The Guardian Art Editor (29 September 2019). "Masobe books joins the publishing fray: announces forthcoming authors and books". The Lagos Review. Retrieved 22 July 2020. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
14. Akpoghene, Melony (December 24, 2021). "Lagos of the Mad: Review of Damilare Kuku's Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad".
15. Yishau, Olukorode (November 26, 2021). "On Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad". The Nation.

External links

• Masobe Books. Website