Introducing Series Co-Editors Dibussi Tande & Lilian Atanga
Spears Books is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest book series, Unbound Voices, alongside the appointment of its founding co-editors, Dibussi Tande and Lilian Atanga, PhD.
About the Series (Unbound Voices)
The Unbound Voices Series is a publishing initiative that moves beyond traditional academic scholarship to showcase compelling everyday stories, ideas, and experiences that speak to broader audiences. It focuses on ordinary narratives with extraordinary insights, bringing lived experiences, cultural reflections, and overlooked voices into conversation.
Core Themes / Focus Areas:
- The Recovered Past
- Out-of-print classics, forgotten texts, and neglected works deserving renewed attention.
- The Transient Present
- Contemporary reflections on home, migration, diaspora, belonging, and in-between cultures.
- Narrative Resilience
- Stories of resistance, quiet everyday lives, and experimental forms that challenge the monolithic “single story” of the continent.
Meet the Co-Editors
Dibussi Tande – Author, Poet & Award-winning Blogger
Bio: Dibussi Tande is a political scientist, writer and poet whose articles have appeared in a variety of print and online publications.He is the author of No Turning Back: Poems of Freedom 1990-1993 (2007) and Scribbles of the Den: Essays on politics and collective memory in Cameroon (2009); and co-editor of Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor of Bate Besong (2008) and Bearing Witness: Poems from a land in Turmoil (2020).
“The Unbound Voices series matters because it brings overlooked African stories back into view. It gives space to often ignored voices, challenges ingrained assumptions about the continent, and deepens how we understand African literature. I am delighted to work with Spears Books on this meaningful project.”
Lilian Atanga – Author, Poet, and Activist
Bio: Lilian Atanga is a gender, politics, and language researcher who has taught and published across disciplines, with key works including Gender, Discourse and Power in the Cameroonian Parliament (2010); Gender Ideologies, Leadership, and Development in Cameroon (2022); and her poetry collection When the Sun Turns Red: Tears from a Land in Turmoil (2022).
“Unbounded Voices digs and brings up silenced, unspoken, untranslated, and unpublished works in fiction, memoir, essay, poetry, and scholarship. It exhumes the buried voices and creates spaces for established, continental, and diasporic voices. I am excited to work with Spears to meet these voices.”
Advisory Board
The co-editors will be assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Carmeliza Rosário, a Pan-African feminist, decolonial anthropologist and researcher and George Ngwane, a Cameroonian writer, civil-society activist, and specialist in conflict prevention, bilingualism, multiculturalism, and minority rights.
Publisher’s Statement
“We are honoured and delighted to welcome Dibussi Tande and Lilian Atanga as co-editors of the Unbound Voices series. Their appointment reflects a wealth of experience, insight, and leadership cultivated through distinguished careers within and beyond academia. As longstanding members of our advisory team, they have played an important part in shaping and advancing our vision over the years. Unbound Voices represents the latest expression of our commitment to decolonising publishing by amplifying voices that have too often been overlooked, marginalised, or silenced. Through this series, we seek to expand the marketplace of ideas by creating space for diverse perspectives, experiences, and forms of knowledge that enrich public discourse. We are genuinely excited about the possibilities this series presents and look forward to sharing its growing catalogue with readers around the world.” — Jude Fokwang, Executive Publisher, Spears Books
Call for Submissions & Guidelines
We are actively seeking manuscript proposals and book submissions that align with the vision of Unbound Voices.
- Submission Guidelines: Full series guidelines, prospectus requirements, and submission instructions can be found at: https://www.spearsbooks.org/unbound-voices/
- Inquiries & Pitches: For informal pitch inquiries or series questions, please contact the editorial team at unboundvoices@spearsbooks.org
About Spears Books:
Spears Books is an independent press dedicated to publishing vibrant, high-quality African literature, scholarly works, and diverse cultural narratives.
Website: www.spearsbooks.org
Social Media: @SpearsBooks
Media Contact: info@spearsmedia.com
