Nigerian author, poet, and filmmaker Godspower Oshodin has released his debut novel, Even the Devil Wears a Pretty Smile, and announced a book tour across selected African countries from November.
Oshodin disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday made available to the NAN.
He said the novel, published by the Africa Literature Trust Fund, was available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.
According to him, the novel examines power, loyalty, ambition and silence, with its storyline moving from Kirikiri prison to Abuja and other cities.
He said the book has a foreword by Dr Gbenga Komolafe, former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Komolafe described the novel as an engagement with difficult subjects and called for more African writers to explore such themes through literature.
“This is not a comfortable book, and it is not meant to be,” Komolafe wrote in the foreword.
Oshodin said he conceived the title in 2012 and shared it with his friend, Victor Jideofor, popularly known as Phlame Nations.
He said he later narrated the story to Jideofor and others in Lagos in 2013, adding that they suggested adapting it into a film.
He, however, decided to develop the story as a novel, which was completed 14 years after the title was conceived.
“The man who finished this book has learnt a great deal and seen a great deal since,” Oshodin said.
He said his travels to 77 countries and 103 cities influenced his perspective and the development of the novel.
Oshodin said the African tour would include readings, author conversations, media interviews and book signings.
He said the dates and cities for the tour would be announced later.
Oshodin is also a journalist and media strategist. His film works include The Scale (Tears for Enebi) and The Last Debt.
His poetry collection, A Poet Who Died By His Poem, was published and launched in Dubai.
He is the founder of the Young Talents Initiative and a United Nations Volunteer.
The Africa Literature Trust Fund promotes reading, writing and multilingual culture in Nigeria and across Africa.
