Tony Okuyeme 
Peda Entertainment, a fast-growing graphic novel publisher in the United States has acquired the right to publish ‘Broken Cloud: the first sunrise’, a fantasy novel written by the prolific Nigerian writer and poet, Ray Anyasi. The publisher, in a statement said, ‘Broken Cloud’ was first made available to the public at the FanExpo in Dallas and then the Awesome Con in Washing- ton DC in June. “So far, the reception and feedback has been nothing short of astonishing, such that the marketing team are tempted to pull back the release date, but we shall see how things go,” the statement read. ‘Broken Cloud’, tells the story of a carefree slave girl, Sari, caught in the taboo act of taking a bath in the river while being a slave and by so trigger- ing a series of heart-breaking events that would see her chosen to be the sacrifice to lift the age old spell of darkness over the kingdom.
It was first published by Nigerian publishers, Naphtali Books in 2020. While the official paperback retail release is scheduled for February 2024, Peda Entertainment is making special editions available for geek fans in a roster of Comic Conventions they are slated to attend through 2023. While reacting to the new development, an excited Anyasi, expressed his delight to see that US fantasy readers can now get ‘Broken Cloud’ in bookstores and be introduced to Sari’s story. “We’ve been on this conversation since the beginning of 2022 and Peda did make an impressive offer with regards reader- ship engagement plans which means a lot to me. I believe US readers would enjoy the story and look forward to reviews from that market”, Anyasi stated. It would be interesting to see how the book does in the US market which is considered the biggest market for that particular genre after it has what can be seen as a decent reception when it was re- leased in Nigeria in 2020.
Fans of Broken Cloud would hopefully not need to wait so long before they are able to continue following Sari’s story. In a recent press release, CEO of Peda Entertainment, Peter Daniel stated, “For quite a while, we have been taking a closer look at the mainstream book market and can clearly see the readership intersec- tion with our flagship line of products which are comics and graphic novels. After considering a number of options presented to us, we thought there is no better way to make an entrance than with such a consummate writer like Anyasi with a prolific reputation.”
Anyasi, who was first published in 2011 by Xlibris in the UK with his de- but, ‘Poll of Vampires’, is considered by many Nigerians as one of the no- table writers to emerge from Nigeria in the last decade. He has over 25 books, including ‘Ujasiri’, ‘Bloodline’ and ‘This Town: a postcard of terror’; and most recently, ‘Sorrows of Udi’. Anyasi’s writing in- fluence is majorly the extraordinary stories of ordinary people who have to confront monstrous challenges they do not orchestrate yet must overcome.
He is also a poet and has published a poetry collection, titled ‘Lines of Thoughts’, which includes the ac- claimed ‘Ogbanje’. Anyasi has contrib- uted articles to The Guardian Express and continues to partake in the global conversations that concern political and social developments; his book, ‘How to Terrorize Terrorism’ is one of such contributions. Some of Anyasi’s books, such as ‘Sorrows of Udi’, ‘Ujasiri’, ‘Broken Cloud’ and ‘To Live Again’, have been translated into other international languages like French, German, Por- tuguese, and Spanish. ‘Sorrows of Udi’ has been adapted into a comic series and an animated Web series which has won official selections and critical ac- claims in several international film festivals.
