Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space : A Literary Mixtape

From the winner of the 2022 African Literary Award for his debut novel THE ETERNAL AUDIENCE OF ONE (Scout Press, August 2021), winner of the Africa Regional Prize of the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and founder of Namibia's first literary magazine, comes a brilliant new collection of award-winning short fiction inspired by a mixtape.

A vibrant and brilliant new collection of award-winning short fiction from the acclaimed author of the “charming, witty, and incredibly humane” (The Pittsburgh Gazette) debut The Eternal Audience of One.

Presented as a literary mixtape, Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space is a work of literature that provides you with a modern reading experience. The A-Side, read as one narrative, tells the story of a soon-to-be thirty-year-old aspiring writer navigating a complicated world. The B-Side, taken as a separate experience, features (seemingly) independent and unrelated short stories.

There’s “Crunchy, Green Apples (or, Omo)”, a story about loss told by the strangest of narrative devices: a shopping list. “Sofa, So Good, Sort Of (or, John Muafangejo)” is a first-person account of a family’s history and a long journey towards hope. A group of friends attempts to navigate a recent breakup in “From the Lost City of Hurtlantis to the Streets of Helldorado (or, Franco).”

When read together, however, a third world emerges—a complex, intergenerational, and interconnected world exploring the universal gaping void of grief. Rather than attempting to cross this black hole directly, the collection carefully traces around its edges, revealing the enormity of this cosmic force from the “electrifying voice you have been waiting for” (Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King).