Ghanaian Authors For Your Reading List – Part 1

By Louisa Danquah

If you’re looking for some Ghanaian authors to read I’ve compiled a list; some I’ve read and some I’ve (admittedly) been meaning to read for some time.

Yaa Gyasi

Yaa Gyasi is a Ghanaian American author who was born in Mampong, Ghana and moved to the US aged 10. She won the National book award for her debut novel Homegoing published in 2016. It’s about two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, who are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana, and follows their descendants across 300 years of history.

Her second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, is about a Ghanaian family dealing with addiction and mental health issues (definitely not a light read if you are looking for one). Her books so far have been about histories and family, so if you like the themes covered in literary books, Yaa Gyasi is one for you.

Michael Donkor

Michael Donkor was born and raised in London. In addition to being an author he’s an English teacher, and a journalist who writes reviews for newspapers. His debut novel Hold is about the friendship that develops between a house girl and the daughter of a wealthy Ghanaian family when the house girl moves to London at the family’s request.

I enjoyed his debut Hold when it first came out, especially seeing the ways that the two girls come to understand each other. There’s been no news on his second novel yet, but  I’ll be keeping an eye out for his next novel when it comes out – until then you can read his reviews in the Guardian.

Jessica George

Jessica George’s debut novel Maame has only recently been published, but it has caused a stir as it made her a millionaire at 26. Jessica’s novel Maame follows 25-year-old Ghanaian girl called Maddie Wright, dealing with daily struggles as well as being her father’s primary caregiver.

The story is based on George’s own experience of being her father’s caregiver, which she wrote over lockdown. I’ll be picking up this one up because I love a messy relatable protagonist – if you’re a fan of Queenie by Candice Carty Williams then this is one you’ll enjoy.

Stay tuned for part two of the reading list!