A masterful debut tells the story of dangerous love—lost, found, and lost again—all against the backdrop of a fantastical, enthralling empire that holds even the Òrìsà themselves spellbound.
SÀNYÀ
by Oyin Olugbile
Masobe Books, December 2022
(via Randle Editorial & Literary)
Sànyà always felt different. And everyone that knew her—the people in the village she grew up in, her beloved brother, Dada, her Aunt Abike, and even her parents before she was born—knew that there was something special about her, too. After an unspeakable tragedy causes her to leave home and grow up too soon, she is devastated to find that her incredible powers are linked to a future which she must fight, even at the cost of her very soul. She begins life anew, hoping that the dark prophesy would somehow rewrite itself. Soon, however, her carefully crafted life and identity becomes the catalyst for a deadly war that will tear her family apart, and doom everything she holds dear.
Oyin Olugbile holds a B.A (Hons) in Creative Arts from the University of Lagos. She also holds a few Post-graduate Certificates from the Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School Online, the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) and a MSc from King’s College London. She currently works as a Social Impact Management Consultant. Oyin Olugbile is also the Chief Curator of the Experience Factory, an education enterprise dedicated to curating out of classroom experiences for young people. EXF programs range from Arts & Crafts, STEM, Photography, Health & Nutrition to Financial Literacy. SÀNYÀ is her debut novel.

A year after their best friend, Janet Uzor dies in a drowning incident, Pamela and Ebere are trying to cope and move on in their own unique ways. Pamela buries her emotions, while Ebere has been on a mission to find out what really happened to their friend, an excellent swimmer, whose death seems unfair and unconscionable. When Pamela begins to receive sinister letters threatening her life, she finally has to confront her fears, and with the help of Ebere, on/off boyfriend Eche, good friend Daniel Kalio, she sets out to find out who is after her life. In order to do this, they have to uncover the truth and the circumstances behind the death of Janet Uzor.
In this origin story, pygmy sloth, Romeo Fortez, is born on remote Escudo Island. At his naming ceremony, a once-in-a-millennium event imbibes him with powers of speed, intelligence, and irresistibly hypnotic good looks. When Romeo moves to New York he discovers that Professor Ian Weird-Warp, a geneticist obsessed with splicing animal genes together, has unleashed a gigantic mutant shar-wolf on the city. With the help of some new human and animal friends, Romeo forms a team of crime fighters to save the city from the evil Professor Weird-Warp and his mutant creation.
The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Instead, facing mounting gambling debts, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry to fund his opium addiction. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.
In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.