ACCLAIMED BRIDGERTON ACTOR ADJOA ANDOH NARRATES AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR CHIBUNDU ONUZO’S DEBUT CHILDREN’S BOOK MAYOWA AND THE SEA OF WORDS

Listen to an extract of the audiobook here.

Bloomsbury Children’s Books is delighted to announce a major campaign for the launch of award-winning author Chibundu Onuzo’s debut children’s novel Mayowa and the Sea of Words, including an audiobook edition narrated by acclaimed actor Adjoa Andoh, best known for her role in Netflix’s hit show Bridgerton which is back on screens for its this week.

Chibundu is already an established, award-winning adult author. Her most recent book Sankofa, published in 2021, was a Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club choice and her debut novel The Spider King’s Daughter won the Betty Trask Award. Now she has seamlessly transferred her skills to the children’s market.

Mayowa and the Sea of Words has all the hallmarks of a timeless classic – a unique narrative voice combined with high-stakes adventure, brilliantly realised fantasy, a heart for social justice and ideas that will stay with readers long after the final page. As the start of a trilogy bursting with international appeal, the series is primed to become a perennial favourite – perfect for

anyone who knows the true power of a good book.

Mayowa can book jump. By jumping on a book, she can harness the emotions inside it and channel them directly into other people. And when the opportunity to use her power to save the lives of countless refugees presents itself, Mayowa wants to jump in with both feet. But Mayowa and her grandpa aren’t the only book jumpers in existence — and not everybody wants to use this power for good.

Publishing simultaneously in hardback, ebook and audio in June 2024, Mayowa and the Sea of Words is supported by a hugely ambitious and creative marketing and PR strategy with early copies released for Indie Bookshop Week, centering Independents at the heart of a campaign focused on book lovers. To coincide with this, Bloomsbury will be offering signed copies and a special illustrated window of the cover to Chibundu’s local bookshops. Chibundu is set to jump feet first into a huge schools and events programme reaching children across the country, including events with Dark Matter Agency hosted at Picturehouse Cinemas which will be attended by 900 young readers across three days.

Publication will be launched with an impactful and wide-reaching media campaign in the UK and Ireland, with Bloomsbury partnering with inclusive and community-driven PR agency Media Hive to reach audiences who will connect with Mayowa’s story.

Chibundu says: ‘I wrote this book because I like adventures and I like girls having adventures. Most of the adventure stories I read as a child had white children at the centre of the narrative. I did not love Five Children and It or Anne of Green Gables or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe any less because the children in them were white but ten-year- old Chibundu would have loved to read an adventure story where the main character was called Mayowa. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, I knew many Mayowas. I did not know many Annes, or Katies, or Heidis’.

As a performance artist, as well as a writer, Chibundu will release the official single for Mayowa and the Sea of Words, ‘Love Lives Here’, to coincide with publication on 20^th June.

According to Chibundu: ‘It’s the song Mayowa would sing to her friend Hamza, who arrived in England as a refugee after a long and perilous journey. She would reassure him, ‘Love lives here, no matter if you’re far or near. You’re never alone, trust me you can always come home’.

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Mark Mukasa

Mark is a South London based writer and avid fan of all things hip hop. He’s also an MMA and history enthusiast who tries to keep his love of animé under wraps.