African speculative fiction just got another historic power move.
Nigerian writer, editor, and publisher Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, the most awarded African-born SFF author alive, has officially signed with two industry giants shaping the future of storytelling.
For film, TV, and media, Ekpeki is now represented by Vince Gerardis of Startling Inc., the legendary producer behind Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and the forthcoming Elden Ring adaptation.
Gerardis’s agency represents the creative minds behind genre-defining worlds, including George R.R. Martin, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Robert Silverberg, and the literary estates of Heinlein and Sturgeon. It is a powerhouse partnership for a writer whose stories have long redefined what African futurism and speculative fiction can be.
On the literary front, Ekpeki’s agent is Mark Gottlieb, Senior Vice President and Literary Agent at Trident Media Group (TMG), the same agency that has represented Isaac Asimov, Marlon James, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, and Tom Clancy.
Ekpeki’s influence already stretches far beyond the page. His works have been translated into multiple languages and have taken him across continents, where he has served as a guest of honour and speaker in Europe, Asia, and North America. His name and legacy are also etched in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, where he is celebrated for his contribution to Afrofuturism and Black literature.
This new alliance with Startling and Trident is more than a career milestone. It is a cultural statement. It signals that African speculative fiction, once pushed to the margins, now sits confidently at the centre of global storytelling. Ekpeki’s worlds, strange, political, and deeply human, are about to cross into the screen era.
And it is about time.
