Adrienne Procaccini, Senior Editor at 47North has acquired C.T. Rwizi’s debut fantasy novel, Scarlet Odyssey, and another title in a very nice five figure deal for World Rights from Julie Crisp Literary Agency.
C. T. Rwizi has written a wonderful epic fantasy set in a landscape inspired by the history of southern and eastern Africa and its myths and magic.
In a culture where magic and education are considered womanly arts, bookish, magic-loving Salo is a pariah, an embarrassment to his father the chief, and the polar opposite of his warrior twin brother. When a witch attacks his kraal, Salo is forced to reveal just how far he has ventured into the world of magic. However, he must go further still if he is to save his people. All the way to the Jungle City in the hope of becoming an Oracle.
Isa watched as her entire family were murdered and barely escaped with her life. Now she has been thrust into the position of King of the Jungle City and ruler of the ten BaYonte clans - a responsibility she never wanted but is determined to succeed at. While usurpers plot to carry out a genocide against her people, Isa must find a way to unite the clans and find a way to bring peace to these troubled lands - even if it costs her soul.
Working in a shanty town as a bodyguard wasn’t exactly what Ilapara had intended when she left home. But there was no place for her in a tribe who refused to accept a female warrior. When she encounters the young Yerezi man seeking his way to the Jungle City she is intrigued. Salo holds powers he shouldn’t be able to wield - how can he possibly look to become an Oracle, a role traditionally only held by women? And what secrets from his past are driving him?
As the two travel towards the civil-war torn Jungle City accompanied by a mysterious wanderer from across the far northern desert, whose tales of the people outside their lands hints at a culture far more technologically and magically advanced than their own, they have no idea that all of them are but mere pawns in a much larger game, and whose mysterious players are quietly making their final moves.
C.T. Rwizi said of the deal: ‘I’ve always been fascinated by works that blur the line between fantasy and science fiction, so I sought to do the same with Scarlet Odyssey, taking inspiration from the myths and cultures of southern Africa, my corner of the world. Writing this book was an absolute joy, and how wonderful a feeling when someone looks at your labor of love and sees something worth believing in.
I’m incredibly grateful to Julie Crisp for being an amazing agent and finding a home for the book at 47North. I’m also grateful to Adrienne Procaccini for deciding to take it on as an editor. Sharing this story with the world will be a dream come true for me, and I really look forward to working with Adrienne and the rest of 47North.’
Julie Crisp said: ‘The first time I read C.T Rwizi’s book I knew it was something special. With diverse mythologies and landscapes, plenty of imagination and action and a cast of original characters this is a fantasy I can’t wait readers to pick-up.’
47North are pitching as N.K. Jemisin meets Marlon James and are planning to publish the first book in Spring 2021.
About the Author: C. T. Rwizi is a young debut author who grew up in Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Gaining a scholarship, he received a BA in Government from Dartmouth College in 2014 and has since returned to South Africa where he works in his family’s local business. Scarlet Odyssey is his first novel.