Hay Festival Book Club - September 2024
Anansi's Gold by Yepoka Yeebo
The astounding, never-before-told story of how an ingenious Ghanaian con artist ran one of the 20th century's longest and most audacious frauds.
When Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957, it immediately became a target for opportunists determined to lay hold of whatever assets colonialism hadn't already stripped. The military ousted the new nation's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, then falsely accused him of stealing the country's gold and hiding it overseas.
Into this story stepped one of history's most charismatic scammers, John Ackah Blay-Miezah – a con man to rival the trickster god Anansi. Born into poverty, Blay-Miezah declared himself the custodian of an alleged Nkrumah trust fund worth billions. You, too, could claim a piece, if only you would help him rescue it – with a small investment. Over the 1970s and '80s, he grew his scam to epic proportions, amassing hundreds of millions of pounds.
Will of the Jhalak Prize 2024, Anansi's Gold sees Yepoka Yeebo chase the ever-wilder trail of Blay-Miezah – unfolding a riveting account of Cold War entanglements and African dreams – revealing the untold story of the grifter who beat the West at its own thieving game.
Read it? Let us know what you think on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram using #HFBookClub.
Further reading
Yepoka Yeebo takes home 2024 Jhalak prize for writers of colour, The Guardian
How an international con artist defrauded people for decades, Inside Hook
About the author
Yepoka Yeebo is a graduate of Queen Mary, University of London and of Columbia University's School of Journalism, she divides her time between Accra, London and New York. Anansi’s Gold is her first book. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek and Quartz, among other publications.
About Hay Festival Book Club
Timeless titles to offer you a break from the day to day. Can't decide what to read next? Follow your curiosity and join Hay Festival on a journey to imagine the world anew through great literature. Unconstrained by genre or form these are our monthly picks of great books worth reading (or re-reading) right now.
Throughout the month, we'll share interesting links and articles relating to our selection on social media using #HFBookClub and invite you all to get involved with your questions and comments. Each selection will also be marked with a free online event.
If you'd like to recommend a book for consideration, get in touch via bookclub@hayfestival.org.
Happy reading!