The Ardent Witness
By Danielle Maisano
Finalist in the 2019 International Book Awards
When Lily sets off in her new profession as a development worker in West Africa, she hopes it will be the start of a new, more fulfilling life - far from the trendy gallery scene in Detroit.
For two years, in a remote Togolese village, Lily must get used to bucket showers, a life without the internet, and her neighbours' fear of sorcerers. But as she becomes more deeply involved with the community, and makes friends with a local girl, she finds that trying to help can bring unforeseen and sometimes devastating consequences.
Based on the author's own experience, this novel gives a startlingly fresh and intimate perspective on how western aid programs are failing Africa. It also shows, with blistering honesty, how one woman's life can be irrevocably changed by a sojourn in one of the most captivating and complex nations on earth.
Available at
Resistance: Voices of Exiled Writers
Contributing Editor
A poetry & prose anthology celebrating 20 years of writing by members of the Exiled Writers Ink organisation, Palewell Press, December 2020
A collection of poetry and prose in celebration of 20 years of the organisation Exiled Writers Ink, Resistance: Voices of Exiled Writers, is an anthology dedicated to those resisting oppression in all its many forms and to those who died fighting for their just cause. This special book comprises one chapter for every year from 2000 to 2020. Each chapter represents an aspect of the organisation’s literary activism work and support for those resisting human rights abuse. From Kosova, Ethiopia and Afghanistan through Zimbabwe, the Uyghurs, Iran, Kurdistan and the Western Sahara, plus many other areas, and culminating with a chapter on #BlackLivesMatter, here are the voices of writers in exile, championing their causes and resisting the attempt of powerful groups to suppress the truth.
Exiled Writers Ink was founded by Jennifer Langer in 2000 at a time when refugees were frequently stigmatised as disempowered, uneducated victims intent on exploiting the host society’s welfare and other systems. Its mission was to defy that narrative and disrupt existing stereotypes. With a passion for justice, it enabled refugee writers’ voices to be heard so that insights could be gained, not only into the pain suffered by refugees, but also into the complexity of the experiences of writers from diverse regions.
