Edge of Here: Stories from Near to Now

(Hardback)

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Description

Enter a world very close to our own...

One in which technology can allow you to explore an alternate love-life with a stranger.

A world where you can experience the emotions of another person through a chip implanted in your brain.

And one where you can view snippets of a distant relative's life with a little help from your DNA.

But remember: these experiences will not be without consequences...

In this stunning debut collection, Kelechi Okafor combines the ancient and the ultramodern to explore tales of contemporary Black womanhood, asking questions about the way we live now and offering a glimpse into our near future.

Uplifting, thought-provoking, sometimes chilling, these are tales rooted in the recognisable, but not limited by the boundaries of our current reality-where truth can meet imagination and spirituality in unexpected ways.

Allow yourself to be taken on a journey into worlds that are blazing with possibility, through stories that will lead you right up to the Edge of Here...

Reviews

Okafor's writing is bold and beautiful. Written with verve and heart, the stories are as incisive as they are thought provoking. In story after story, Okafor demonstrates an imagination that is not afraid to explore difficult questions.This is a book we need right now. * Chika Unigwe *
As surreal as a season of Black Mirror, yet as telling regarding life as we know it. Okafor's Edge of Here pokes at our principles, twists our humour and holds us at the brink of reflection. A stunning Debut. * Yomi Sode *
Finally, a new era of sci-fi is upon us. EoH takes you to an alternate & future universe that is strangely also very familiar and current. Simultaneously deep and casual, Kelechi has crafted quite a collection - for these times & times to come. * Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon *
With Edge of Here, Kelechi Okafor has crafted an interconnected world that is prescient and truthful in the way only fiction can be. These speculative parables are an invitation to meditate on where we are and where we are headed, in a unique voice that is determined in its directness but ever hopeful in its tone. * Jendella Benson *
Kelechi's words offer laser like accuracy and her stories penetrate straight into the areas that are missed in our lives due to the busyness of the everyday and their distractions. A must read for the hopeful! * Lavinia Stennett *
Kelechi's debut is nothing short of stunning. Her writing is both bold and delicate and her ability to weave in social issues into masterful and captivating storytelling is truly a gift we all should treasure. * Tobi Oredein *

Author Bio

Kelechi Okafor is a Nigerian-born, London-based lover of words-whether that's crafting works of fiction, articles, stageplays or screenplays; from directing others on stage to expressing her thoughts on society one podcast episode at a time alongside esteemed interview guests on her award-winning podcast Say Your Mind. The podcast focusses on globally relevant conversations and events, framed through a lens of understanding that is firmly anti- colonial, white-supremacy and heteropatriarchy. It serves both as a personal exploration, and as a way to build a community that is challenged to think critically.

Known online as @Kelechnekoff, Kelechi also affectionately known as "just a Baby Girl" by her followers, listeners and community. Her path has been guided by flames left by Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Chika Unigwe, Austin Channing Brown, un, and so many more voices from the past and present. Edge of Here is her debut story collection.