''Born on a Tuesday'' is a 2016 novel by Nigeria writer

Elnathan John Elnathan John (born 1982) is a Nigerian novelist, Satire, satirist and lawyer whose stories have twice been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing. Career Elnathan John was born in Kaduna (city), Kaduna, in North West (Nigeria), no ...

. It is his debut novel. It was published in 2016 by Black Cat an imprint of

Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...

Plot summary

Dantala is the protagonist of Born on a Tuesday, a story about life, love, friendship, and loss. a young boy from a Sheikh household who attempts to navigate religious and political divides in North West Nigeria. Dantala resided among a street gang that planned to disrupt an election, which backfired and forced Dantala to flee for his life.

Reception

On 2016, it was shortlisted for the

Nigeria Prize for Literature Nigeria Prize for Literature is a Nigerian literary award given annually since 2004 to honor literary erudition by Nigerian authors. The award rotates among four genres; fiction, poetry, drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mod ...

. Also, on 2017, it was Longlisted for the Etisalat Prize for African Literature. It was also shortlisted for the

Republic of Consciousness Prize The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employee ...

, He also won

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total at least , with normally one author receiving a larger prize amount ( ...

for ''Born on a Tuesday''. It made to the Top 10 Nigerian Books of 2019 by

Channels Television Channels Television is a Nigerian independent 24-hour news channel, news and media television channel based in Lagos, Nigeria. The parent company, Channels Incorporated, was founded in 1992, a year before the Nigerian government deregulated the ...

References

{{reflist 2016 Nigerian novels Political novels Anti-war novels 2016 debut novels Grove Press books