It’s an especially great day to be a Nnedi Okorafor fan: the much-acclaimed author has three new adult fantasy novellas on the way. Gizmodo is excited to reveal that DAW Books will release a prequel to Who Fears Death — itself the basis for an in-the-works HBO series being produced by George R.R. Martin.
Here’s the press release with all the details:
“DAW Books has acquired North American rights and audio to three adult fantasy novellas by award-winning Africanfuturist superstar Nnedi Okorafor: She Who Knows and two sequels.
In 2011, Nnedi Okorafor won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel with her adult debut, Who Fears Death, which follows a unique, powerful woman called Onyesonwu. She Who Knows is the prequel to that story and follows Onyesonwu’s mother, Najeeba, on her own harrowing journey to hone her power.
Nnedi Okorafor is the winner of Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, and Lodestar Awards, and the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. An adaptation of Who Fears Death is currently in development for television at HBO with George R.R. Martin producing. Nnedi has also written comics for Marvel, including Black Panther: Long Live the King and Wakanda Forever, and the Shuri series. Her science fiction comic series LaGuardia is an Eisner and Hugo Award nominee, and her memoir Broken Places & Outer Spaces is a Locus Award nominee.”
“I’ve wanted to write this story for over a decade,” Okorafor shared in an exclusive statement to Gizmodo. “It’s been dwelling in my head like a living storm. If you thought Onyesonwu from Who Fears Death was intense, wait until you truly meet her mother. Phew!”
She Who Knows will be published in spring 2024; its sequels will arrive in later seasons.