Publisher acquires journalist’s new novel, sets September release date

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An independent African publisher, Masobe Books, has acquired Black Market, the third novel and fifth book by award-winning Nigerian journalist and author, Olukorede Yishau.

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The publisher disclosed this in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Wednesday, announcing that the novel will be released on September 29, 2026.

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Black Market follows the intertwined lives of two Nigerian couples living in Texas, United States: Eyitayo and Yewande, and Tobi and Bukola.

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Through their stories, Yishau examines one of the enduring assumptions within immigrant communities that returning home to choose a spouse is a safeguard against marital failure.

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According to the statement, the novel explores themes of identity, loneliness, betrayal, ambition, emotional abuse, cultural expectations and the hidden costs of pursuing the Nigerian dream abroad.

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It also questions “whether geography, rather than character, has too often been blamed for broken marriages.”

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Masobe Books founder, Othuke Ominiabohs, described the novel as an important addition to the publisher’s catalogue of contemporary African fiction.

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“We are delighted to bring this important work to readers,” Ominiabohs said.

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Founded in 2018, Masobe Books said it has published more than 200 African writers and established itself as one of the continent’s leading independent publishing houses through its focus on discovering and promoting African voices.

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For Yishau, Black Market marks another milestone in a literary career that has earned critical acclaim.

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The journalist and editor is the author of In the Name of Our Father (2018), which was longlisted for the 2021 Nigeria Prize for Literature, After the End (2024), Vaults of Secrets (2020), and United Countries of America and Other Travel Tales (2022).

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“Beyond fiction, Yishau has distinguished himself in journalism, winning multiple Nigeria Media Merit Awards across diverse reporting categories, including Columnist of the Year, while building a reputation as one of Nigeria’s finest editors and literary voices,” the statement read.

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It added, “Unlike conventional diaspora narratives that focus primarily on relocation and cultural adjustment, Black Market turns its attention inward, examining relationships shaped by expectations carried across continents.

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“Set largely in Texas, the novel portrays the emotional negotiations that occur when tradition meets modernity and when marriages become battlegrounds for competing dreams, unresolved traumas and shifting identities.

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“Readers can expect Yishau’s trademark storytelling: layered characters, elegant prose, moral complexity and an unflinching willingness to confront uncomfortable truths about family, faith, power and the choices people make in pursuit of happiness.”

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