My first attempt at Canva! Yay! But that's not really what this post is about.
I'm not a huge sitcom person. I prefer my stories to come to me fully-formed, longer structure, the beats of storytelling less obvious and canned. But the premiere of CBS's new show (Sept. 23) hits close to home for me. Here's why:
When Augustine Sheriff and I completed work on his memoir and had a book we were really excited about, we began submissions for traditional publication. For nearly two years, the NY publishing industry (agents and editors) told us that there was little to no audience for a memoir about Africa, that the readership just wasn't there, that it was too obscure a place for Western readers to find a foothold and interest--especially for someone without a platform. Our book proposal went to great pains to disprove their thinking: market research into other memoirs about Africa that had done well, the success of Saroo Brierly's memoir-turned-7X-Oscar-nominated film about India that contained remarkable parallels to Augustine's journey, a resurgence about Liberia in the news regarding Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Africa's first-elected black female president. Time and again, we were told the market just wasn't there.
We disagreed. And decided to bring the book directly to readers.
And here we are with a major network taking a chance on the immigrant experience. CBS execs aren't stupid. They would have market-tested this concept to death before putting it into production. The show's message is one of unity, commonality, and love found in unexpected places. Huh. Sounds like Augustine's message in THE NATURE OF SHADOWS.
The world needs more of this message of love and acceptance right now. Tune in on Sept. 23 if sitcoms are your thing. And I hope you'll consider reading a memoir about the people in an "obscure" place called Liberia who have a lot to teach the world about love.
THE NATURE OF SHADOWS
COMING October 18, 2019
Pre-order links coming soon.
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