My name is Buki Papillon. I am a Nigerian-born writer transplanted first to the UK and then to the US where I now live. I am super excited about my first book, An Ordinary Wonder, due out in the UK in March 2021. The date was originally October 2020, but well, Covid happened! An Ordinary Wonder is a coming-of-age story with Nigerian deities and folklore and twins and gender identity and complex family relationships and love and hope! The book follows Oto who is born intersexed in Nigeria, and whose wealthy and powerful family is ashamed of their identity and treats Oto cruelly to ensure silence. When even Oto's beloved twin sister wavers in a world of secrets and lies that seems determined to tear the siblings apart, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives forever. I respectfully use they/them and she/her pronouns for Oto, though they/them as a singular personal pronoun wasn’t an option in that particular time or culture, or within the Yoruba language, which hasn’t even got gendered pronouns! There are no words for referring to a person by the binary him/her! Amazing, isn’t it? I loved writing about twins, and like many single-borns, I’ve always wondered what it would be to have a twin. Plus, Yoruba people have the highest incidence of twins in the world and twins have their very own deity, the Orisa Ibeji! I hope you will love the book when it comes out! 

What’s the first novel you remember completing and was this the first book you had published?

The first ‘novel’ I remember ‘writing’ was filling a small notebook with a long story about Moomins. As a child, I’d gotten enthralled reading the Finn Family Moomintroll books! My stunning piece of literary achievement was unfortunately lost during one of my family’s many house moves. I would give so much to read what my 8 year old self wrote! During my MFA, I completed an interlinked short story collection that is still sitting quiet, waiting. An Ordinary Wonder contains maybe one-third of my actual first completed novel, which I took apart to literal pieces of paper, cut up and spread all over my study floor, then totally rewrote. I am so over the moon that An Ordinary Wonder will be published! Early readers have been so happy with the book, it’s brought me to tears!

 What’s one piece of advice you have from your own experience submitting to agents?

Make sure you do your research and have built up as clear a picture as you can of what delights each particular agent you plan to submit to. You can never do too much preparation really, as you almost always have just one shot at querying that particular work to that specific agent. First make sure they do represent your genre or are open to your subject matter. Let the agent know why you think your work will resonate with them right off the bat in the first sentence or two of your letter if you can. Agents are looking for a reason to want to read your work. Give them that reason. E.g. ‘I read on your website that you like books that have X, Y, Z and my work which is set in X, has elements of Y and touches on Z as well…’ you get the idea! Polish and polish the next two or three paragraphs that encapsulate your story. Every single word should be geared towards making them want to read further. It might take a while till you get the right agent who says yes, but don’t give up, and keep tweaking and improving your query when rejections come in - you will get better at it. And if any agents respond with that amazing unicorn called actual feedback or encouragement, treat it like gold! Go back and examine your query letter (and however much of your submission they’ve read) through the lens of that precious advice. Finally, in the words of a Yoruba proverb, paddle your own canoe! Don’t look at the successes of others around you, just focus on burnishing your own query till it gleams. And of course, make your work the best you possibly can before submitting and make sure it is complete! Also, love and believe in your writer self!

What has been a highlight of the publishing process so far?

So far, being on this journey with real life warrior superwoman Juliet Mushens as my agent! Then having her sell my book to the best possible editor for it, Sharmaine Lovegrove, at Dialogue Books! Add that to the publishing team hitting at first try on that stunning UK book cover designed by Jon Gray which had me all goosebumpy with joy, and it has truly been an amazing ride!

What are you writing next?

Ah, this brings us right back to the Yoruba proverbs! There is a saying that one does not call an unborn child by its given name! (Newborns are formally presented to the world on the eight day, during a naming ceremony). I can give hints, though, and I hope they’re exciting ones! I am working on two things, three if I count a long-term project that will likely be collaborative. In my next book I can promise there will be otherworldliness and of course siblings with issues (I think that is a preoccupation of mine?) and there will also be friendship and crushes and trouble and magic and mayhem! 

An Ordinary Wonder is out in hardback in March 2021.