London Gliterary Lunch with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ & Abigail Burdess

A Spell of Good Things
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

The Author

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Her debut novel, Stay With Me, won the 9mobile Prize for Literature, was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction, the Wellcome Book Prize and the Kwani? Manuscript Prize. The novel has been translated into twenty languages and the French translation was awarded the Prix Les Afriques. Longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award, it was a New York Times, Guardian, Chicago Tribune and NPR Best Book of the Year. Ayòbámi Adébáyò splits her time between Norwich and Lagos.

The Book

A Spell of Good Things is her eagerly awaited second novel. Ayòbámi Adébáyò unveils a dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption.  Eniola’s father has lost his job, so Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging, dreaming of a big future.  Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of family friends.  When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In this breathtaking novel, Ayòbámi Adébáyò shines her light on Nigeria, on the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.

Praise for Ayòbámi Adébàyò

She writes not just with extraordinary grace but with genuine wisdom about love and loss and the possibility of redemption. She has written a powerfully magnetic and heartbreaking book.  New York Times

Mother's Day
Abigail Burdess

The Author

Abigail Burdess has written for and acted in various comedy shows for the television, radio and stage. She also sometimes writes TV for kids, as well as plays and musicals. She is particularly known for That Mitchell and Webb Look; The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff and Tracy Ullman’s Show.  She lives in London with her husband, Robert Webb and their two children. Mother’s Day is her first novel.

The Book

She gave you life. What if she wants it back?

The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family. But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes – because the same day, she learns she’s going to be a mother too.  Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna’s living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else’s? Now she will have to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for a real family – her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.

Praise for Abigail Burdess

Completely gripping and quite terrifying. I was utterly blindsided by its twists and turns.  Lucy Porter