A dazzling collection of stories, The Prophet of Zongo Street takes readers to a world that seamlessly blends African folklore and myths with modernity. Set primarily on Zongo Street, a fictitious community in West Africa, the stories -- which are reminiscent of the works of Ben Okri and Amos Tutuola -- introduce us to wonderfully quirky characters and the most uproarious, poignant, and rawest moments of life. There's Kumi, the enigmatic title character who teaches a young boy to finally ask questions of his traditions. And as Ali moves his characters to America we meet Felix, who struggles with America's love of the exotic in "Rachmaninov." The Prophet of Zongo Street heralds a new voice and showcases Mohammed Naseehu Ali's extraordinary ability to craft stories that are both allegorical and unforgettable.

Recorded on location in the Volta Region in Ghana in 2006-07, these stories are the result of collaboration between Anna Cottrell and Agbotadua Togbi Kumassah. Agbotadua Togbi Kumassah translated the Ewe stories into English and Anna Cottrell has retold them in contemporary English for the wider European market. This edition presents the 24 stories in their original form for the Ghanian market.

School has never been easy for Timothy Speare. He's had his share of strict teachers, bullies, mean girls, and stressful amounts of homework. If that's not enough, he and his two best friends are labeled as the Nerdy Trio by the whole school. But his junior year of high school might be his toughest yet after he learns a dark secret. Some of the students aren't real . . . They're Fictional. Coming from a world where fiction is fact, literature's greatest villains have banded together and have invaded our non-Fictional world. They may look like ordinary high school students, but in secret they are monsters, witches, and other villains in disguise with plans to take over the world. They may not be the most popular kids on campus, but the Nerdy Trio may be the only hope of stopping this true-to-life Fictional evil. They've read about heroes. Now the Nerdy Trio will learn what it means to be a hero when they step up to defend their world. Joining forces with a mysterious new girl, they will find magical items, face great danger, and learn about the dark history of their school--all in their mission to bring about the end of the Fictionals.

Haunting, varied, and superbly written, Dog Boy and Other Harrowing Tales is a collection of stories immersed in the Gothic tradition yet told in a modern and inventive way. At the end of the First World War, a group of friends gather at a former Robber Baron estate on Eastern Long Island, only to learn the house holds a monstrous secret. In a Montana prison in 1988, a new dog training program goes awry with horrifying results. A Parisian cemetery in the mid-20th century is home to the ghosts of two centuries of poets, artists, and composers, the specters of a homeless woman's past, and the jolting reality of the modern world. Knitting together the ordinary, the extraordinary, and the supernatural, Dog Boy and Other Harrowing Tales is a boldly imagined literary work by a masterful new storyteller. At a time when most authors of contemporary literature seem obsessed with humor and shying away from documenting the painful aspects of our existence, Erica-Lynn Huberty [has written] a book of stories whose immediate goal is not to entertain or humor us, but to liberate us from this desire Mohammed Naseehu Ali, author of The Prophet of Zongo Street a distinctly American investigation of the emotional corners into which people retreat to pass their lives Hilary Thayer Hamann, author of Anthropology of an American Girl "In Dog Boy and Other Harrowing Tales, Erica-Lynn Huberty reminds us what fiction is all about: beautiful writing, vivid characters, and an imagination that truly soars. A remarkable debut. Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and Comfort

"A powerful coming-of-age story of self-discovery and overcoming fear.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review Ato hasn’t visited his grandmother’s house since he was seven. He’s heard the rumors that she’s a witch, and his mother has told him he must never sit on the old couch on her porch. Now here he is, on that exact couch, with a strange-looking drink his grandmother has given him, wondering if the rumors are true. What’s more, there’s a freshly dug hole in her yard that Ato suspects may be a grave meant for him. Meanwhile at school, Ato and his friends have entered a competition to win entry to Nnoma, the island bird sanctuary that Ato’s father helped created. But something is poisoning the community garden where their project is housed, and Ato sets out to track down the culprit. In doing so, he brings his estranged mother and grandmother back together, and begins healing the wounds left on the family by his father’s death years before. And that hole in the yard? It is a grave, but not for the purpose Ato feared, and its use brings a tender, celebratory ending to this deeply felt and universal story of healing and love from one of Ghana’s most admired children’s book authors.

Provides an overview of the history and culture of Ghana, featuring discussion of the country's religion and thought, the arts, cuisine and traditional dress, gender roles, marriage and family, social customs, and lifestyle.

A celebration of Ama Ata Aidoo's work presented as a festschrift with a broad spectrum of articles and personal memoirs from scholars and literary artists. It conveys the full extent of Aidoo's place as a literary innovator and an exponent of radical social and cultural thought in Africa and internationally on account of its self-consciousness and gender equality. Included are a study, by playwright Femi Osofisan, of the Nigerian film industry and its impact on live theatre and negative images in contemporary Ghanaian music.