Bloomsbury is to publish Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate's first novel in 48 years.
Paul Baggaley, editor-in-chief, and Faiza Khan, consulting publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada and Africa, but including South Africa) and audio rights, which were bought from Zoe Waldie at RCW on behalf of Melanie Jackson at the Melanie Jackson Agency.
The novel will be published on 28th September 2021, simultaneously with Pantheon at Penguin Random House in the US, accompanied by a "landmark" publicity and marketing campaign.
Set in a contemporary version of Nigeria, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is described as "at once a savagely witty whodunit and a corrosively satirical examination of corruption, both personal and political".
