Peter Akinti, Debut Author

I met Peter Akinti in September 2007 at the Brooklyn Book Festival. Days later we had a drink in Harlem before he got onto a bus headed to Jena, Louisiana to see what the race riots were all about. He still says he wishes I'd gotten on that bus with him... And I still laugh at the thought of a white South African being anything other than problematic on that particular journey.
Akinti began his novel Forest Gate just before we met. It has nothing to do with Jena, but everything to do with race -- this time though it's race issues in the U.K that are looked at. In early January this year, it was acquired by Jonathan Cape. It will be published in a year from now. Look out for this new voice.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/53274-teen-suicide-novel-to-cape.html