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ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE
ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE

ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE

By Malik Sam, Translated by Marjolijn de Jager

0-3

FICTION

300 Pages, 5.5 x 8

Formats: EPUB

EPUB, $11.99 (US $11.99) (CA $16.95)

Publication Date: January 2027

ISBN 9781639640935

Rights: WOR

Schaffner Press (Jan 2027)

eBook

eBook Editions Available

Will it work on my eReader?
Not yet published. Ships 1/5/2027.
 

Overview

Set in the northern region of Africa and the Saharan desert region known as the Sahel, ONLY THE LIE IS TRUE is the harrowing story of a contemporary immigrant's struggle to reach freedom by boat across the Mediterranean, far from the oppression and violence of her home country, Nigeria. Moreover, the protagonist of this first novel, Nour, is in transition from male to female, one of many queer and transgendered people fleeing from certain imprisonment, torture, and possibly death from a society where to claim such an identity is forbidden and illegal. This novel, based on a true story of a transgender immigrant, provides i chilling detail the realities of the immigrant detention camps, the smugglers and their compatriots who prey on the naivete of the refugees, and the complex network of trust and betrayal that makes up the world of the camp operations. Nour is a fiery protagonist who must first join forces with the smuggling operation in the refugee detention camp on the Libyan border in which she is held in order to obtain freedom, all while maintaining her tenuous disguise as a man.

Author Biography

Malik Sam (nom de plume)Malik Sam was born in France to a French mother and a Tunisian father, and grew up in Tunisia in a family steeped in poetic and musical culture. He returned to Paris as a young man to complete his higher education at the Sorbonne. After graduating with a degree in LEA English/Arabic. and fluency in four languages: Italian, French, English and Arabic he first worked as a translator, and subsequently joined the French rock band No Mans Land, as the group's new guitarist, singer and songwriter. After a successful career as a musician, Malik turned to writing fiction. Marjolijn de Jager is an award-winning translator and scholar of francophone and African literature. She is the English-language translator of Beyrouk's novel Pariahs, published in 2023 by Schaffner Press, as well as works by Yasmine Ghata, Emmanuel Dongala, Louis-PhilippeDalembert, and is a recipient of the Villa Albertine Award for excellence in translation.