Nigerian writer and visual artist Victor Ehikhamenor is launching Central Hotel, his first fiction collection, on October 30, at the John Randle Centre on Lagos Island. Published by Masobe Books, the 276-page hardback brings together eleven interconnected stories, each accompanied by Ehikhamenor’s pencil drawings. The launch will feature a reading and conversation hosted by Nigerian writer and poet Wana Udobang, with Ehikhamenor discussing the characters and experiences behind the collection. The book will also be available for purchase at the event.
Moving between Nigeria and the diaspora, the stories revisit familiar characters and places, tracing lives from childhood into adulthood. Described by Masobe Books as a mosaic of one community and its offshoots, the collection explores the ways military rule, migration, religion, family, power and survival shape individual lives. In “I Put a Spell on You,” a woman who leaves her faith for intimacy in America discovers that love can become a structure of control. “Madam” follows young women trafficked across borders under the promise of education, while the title story centres on two boys whose visit to a faded roadside hotel becomes an encounter with the irreversible loss of innocence. The collection has received praise from writers including E. C. Osondu, A. Igoni Barrett, Sarah Ladipo Manyika and Chris Abani.
Ehikhamenor is an artist, photographer and writer whose practice spans visual art and literature. His work has featured on the global art stage, including recognition through the Apollo 40 award. He holds a BA in English and Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing, and his fiction and essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC and CNN Online. Several stories in Central Hotel have previously appeared in literary journals and anthologies. “The Supreme Command” received a Highly Commended Award from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, while “Who Will Bury the Dead” appeared in Wasafiri and “Passport to Heaven” in Farafina. “Madam” was also exhibited alongside his Postcards from Italy drawings at the 56th Venice Biennale. The new collection marks his return to book-length literature fourteen years after Excuse Me!, his collection of satirical essays.
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