Inspiring Interviews
Printfresh x Simon & Schuster Book Club: Meet Author Vanessa Walters
Welcome back to our Printfresh x Simon & Schuster Book Club! We’re spotlighting author Vanessa Walters as she takes us behind the scenes of her latest novel, "The Nigerwife". A vivid tale of cultural identity and self-discovery, Walters unveils the inspiration behind her characters, shares intriguing facts about the book, and teases us with news of the upcoming HBO adaptation. So let's dive right into this engaging conversation with Walters about her captivating journey in "The Nigerwife".
Lynzi Yearick
July 2023
Printfresh x Simon & Schuster Book Club: Meet Author Vanessa Walters
Q: In your own words can you give us a brief overview of the book?
A: Nicole moved to Lagos, Nigeria, from the UK with her wealthy husband and child, becoming a Nigerwife (the foreign wife of a Nigerian man). For a while, all was well, but over time she felt trapped in her albeit luxurious life and increasingly unhappy marriage. When she disappears after a boat trip, her aunt Claudine travels from the UK to Lagos, looking for answers, but her search uncovers uncomfortable secrets and awakens buried painful memories of her own.
Q: What inspired you to write this novel?
A: As a former Nigerwife in Lagos myself, I wanted to articulate the experience for others as well as bring out the fascinating city of Lagos. I experienced similar loneliness and anxiety to Nicole - lots of Nigerwives do. I also had so many questions about culture and identity. I felt I had disappeared figuratively at one point. But what if I literally disappeared? That's really where the story began.
Q: What’s one thing you’d like to share with shoppers who read the book?
A: On the surface, this is a thriller about a missing woman, but it's really a book about finding yourself. Both Claudine and Nicole find themselves again during this story. It's never really the end. We just keep finding ourselves in different ways.
Q: What’s one fun fact about the book that readers may not know about?
A: The word Nigerwife is often confused with the slang term Naijawife. Nigerwife is a Nigerian immigration term that defines the foreign wife of a Nigerian man resident in Nigeria. Naijawife is any wife of a Nigerian, foreign or not. Both are pronounced the same but have slightly different but important meanings!
signed, sealed & printed
Q: What’s your favorite part of the book?
A: The prologue because that really happened to me more than once! Dead bodies did occasionally float past my compound on the lagoon. Such a profound moment that deeply affected me as it did Nicole.
Q: Can you talk about your background in international journalism and playwriting?
A: I studied Law and French Law which took me to Paris working for a French bank but I gravitated towards writing, working in London (Financial Times and others), Paris (Thomson Reuters), and Lagos, Nigeria (Guardian Newspaper and others), writing about all sorts of topics, from financial reporting to women's magazines. I've had five plays performed at theatres in the UK, the most recent of which was Michael X at the Almeida Theatre in London in 2021.
Q: Can you provide any behind the scenes info on HBO picking up the book?
A: HBO acquired TV rights to THE NIGERWIFE during an exciting auction with two other production companies. Amy Aniobi, the writer/director/producer of INSECURE starring Issa Rae, fronted the HBO bid. We now have a screenwriter for the show but I can't say any more than that for now.
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