An Indies Introduce Q&A with Damilare Kuku

Damilare Kuku is the author of Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad, a Winter/Spring 2024 Indies Introduce adult fiction selection. 

Kuku has worked as a radio presenter, scriptwriter, film producer, actress, and director. Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is her first book, and it was a runaway bestseller in her native Nigeria.

Melissa Sagendorph of Harvard Book Store in Cambridge,  Massachusetts, served on the panel that selected this title.

“An anthem for strong-willed women of the 21st century, these stories will burrow under your skin and light your blood on fire," said Sagendorph. "The women of Lagos have been put down by men for too long, and they’re reclaiming their power in force. Sharp-witted and fierce, Damilare Kuku speaks directly to the heart and compels you to unveil your inner bad*ss.”

Here, Kuku and Sagendorph discuss Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad. 

Melissa Sagendorph: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is your first book, but you have a background in acting and producing as well as writing. How does your creative process compare between these different mediums?

Damilare Kuku: It's all art to me. Writing is a complex form. I have to become all of these characters that I write about in order to be able to understand how to tell their stories. 

Some of the characters in Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad are loosely based on people I know so I am partly familiar with their pain or joy. However, when it was time to write the book, I had to go through the emotions fully. I was walking the full miles in their shoes and most were a lot larger than my feet. 

It was both exhilarating and exhausting. 

Of course, when the stories were too sad, I made sure the characters chose paths that eventually liberated them, as with the last story in the book. That's the great thing about fiction — I can get away with murder and even resurrect the dead body a few chapters down the line…all in the same book!

MS: The city of Lagos is depicted so vibrantly in your stories. How important was capturing that setting while you were writing? 

DK: Lagos is the star, we the people that call it home are all just supporting players! Lagos is life! Lagos literally doesn't sleep! And I wanted to show that in my stories. I am very happy that it came through. 

You need to live here to know the life I am capturing with words. It's unmatched. I often joke with my friends that Lagos is the Las Vegas of Nigeria. It was of utmost importance that I portrayed it as best as I could, otherwise I would have disappointed Lagos as an entity itself.

MS: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is becoming an international hit! Why do you think these stories resonate so strongly with such a widespread, diverse audience? Was that always your intention? 

DK: Thank you for your kind and uplifting observation. I am a deeply religious person. I lean heavily on my God. So, while I was rewriting the story “First Times,” in the middle of one of those nights, I just asked God to surprise me. I also asked Him to comfort everyone who has gone through any of these characters’ journeys.

When I write, it is because I am feeling overwhelmed by a lot and I no longer want to speak so I have to write it out. With my words, I am looking for anyone, anywhere who feels what I feel, so I don't feel alone. As I write, I feel the urge to hug people with my words.

I think with Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad, what makes it such a hit is that people can see themselves in these characters and it gives them comfort. And art that you can relate with will forever continue to expand.

MS: Sexuality and empowerment are strongly linked in this collection. Can you say more about how those two relate in regards to modern womanhood? 

DK: I am a modern woman. And most modern women, myself included, are having sex or hoping to have sex in their relationships.

Sex is a form of human connection. Sometimes sex could even be empowering. I don't think you can tell a story about human relationships, especially the ones that have to do with falling in love or marriage, and remove human connection from it.

The empowerment aspect of the book was really a deliberate move on my part. I am tired of the oppressors of the weak thinking they have won. I am tired of it. So I am always going to look for a way for my characters to win. That way, anyone who decides to pick up my books will feel victory no matter how small.

Nigeria right now is in need of all the empowerment it can get, so every time you pick up a book of mine, you will see the traces of it. Every time.

MS: In previous interviews, you’ve said that the stories in this book were inspired by real women in your life. With that in mind, were there stories or characters you found particularly challenging to write? Did any stick with you more so than others?

DK: I love all my stories. They are my babies. I had more fun with some characters because they were just cruising through life, and some took me through the many stages of emotions. But I love them equally. I like to think I am a very objective yet loving parent to my stories.

The entire book is dedicated to my mother, so that already says how deep the love I hope to spread through the book is. I wanted the women in my life to know I see them, I hear them, and I am in awe of their strengths and weaknesses.

Nearly all the Men in Lagos is a love letter to you and everyone who can relate with the stories.

ABA member stores are invited to use this interview or any others in our series of Q&As with Indies Introduce debut authors in newsletters and social media and in online and in-store promotions. Please let us know if you do.