Stories in this collection first appeared in the following publications:
‘Madness’: The Wrong Patient and Other Stories, Africa Book Club anthology, 2018 (finalist, 2018 Africa Book Club Competition)
‘Monkeys’: The Johannesburg Review of Books, January 2019
‘In Papa's Name’ first published as ‘In Father’s Name’ in: Transcending the Flame, Writivism, 2018 (long-listed, 2017 Writivism Short Story Prize)
‘Letty’ (extract): DRUM, 6 April 2017
‘Skinned’ (extract): www.africanwriter.com, 8 August 2017
‘Professor Banda’ (extract): www.brittlepaper.com, 25 April 2016
Epigraphs are taken from:
Nawal El Saadawi, Memoirs from the Women’s Prison, University of California Press, 1994
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists, HarperCollins UK, 2014
James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room, Dial Press USA, 1956
I am beholden to my literary friends Innocent Ilo, Shannon Hopkins, Tariro Ndoro, Peter Ngila, and Rešoketšwe Manenzhe who helped mould some of the stories in this collection before submission. I appreciate the time they gave to help me shape my work.
Thabiso Mahlape, thank you so much for believing in my stories. Thank you to my editor, who worked so hard to polish this collection.
I am also truly grateful to the few short story magazines I have worked with.
To my family and friends who support my writing, ghe levhowa gha maaḓa.
And finally, Keletso Mopai, thank you for trusting your pen and for sitting in front of the computer to start writing. You did it.