Pacesetter Series

A Dream called September Christine Botchway 1996

A Fresh Start Helen Ovbiagele 1982

Agony in Her Voice Peter Katuliiba 1982

Angel of Death Nandi Dlovu 1982

Bittersweet Ye#U0301ma Lucilda Hunter 1989

Cherished Dreams Mugarra Adyeeri 1994

Circle of Betrayal James Irungu 1987

Danger Express David Msere 1999

Dead Of Night Philip Phil-Ebosie 1983

Dealers in Death Victor Thorpe 1992

For Better For Worse Osman Pius Conteh 1995

Forever Yours Helen Ovbiagele 1985

Give Me Money Ben Mtobwa 1988

Harvest of Love Sam Aryeetey 1984

Life Is A Lottery Maurice Sotabinda 1984

Love Kalu Okpi 1991

Love On The Rocks Andrew Sesinyi 1981

Love s Dilemma Walije Gondwe 1985

Moses and the Gunman Barbara Kimenye 1999

Naira Power Buchi Emecheta 1982

Operation Rhino James Irungu and James Shimanyula 1989

Pains of A Maid Sarah Mkhonza 1989

Possessed! Atu Yalley 1984

Remember Death Gladstone Meena 1994

Shadow of Death Jackson Katondwaci 1993

Shameful Sacrifice Richard Anieke 1985

Sweet Revenge Victor A Ulojiofor 1982

Tell Me No More Senzenjani Lukhele 1986

The Betrayer Sam Adewoye 1979

The Border Runners James Irungu and James Shimanyula 1984

The Camera Never Lies A Mhlope 1993

The Delinquent Mohammed Sule 1979

The Equitorial Assignment David G Maillu 1980

The Gun Merchant 1998

The Hopeful Lovers Agbo Areo 1979

The Hornets Nest Jill Inyundo 1996

The Last Aloe Rita Wooding 1998

The Lost Generation James Irungu 1985

The Money-Doublers Maurice-Sotabinda 1985

The Worshippers Victor Thorpe 1979

Too Young To Die Omondi Mak Oloo 1986

Truth Will Out Dede Kamkondo 1986

What The Future Holds Sarah Mkhonza 1989

About this Collection

The Pacesetter Series occupies a peculiar and undervalued place in the history of Nigerian popular fiction. Published by Macmillan Nigeria from the late 1970s onward, the series was conceived as a local counterpart to the pulp romance and adventure novels flooding Nigerian bookshops from British and American publishers — but written by Nigerians, set in Nigeria, about Nigerian lives.

The books were unapologetically popular: thrillers, romances, crime stories, tales of city life and village intrigue. They were sold at kiosks and market stalls, read on buses and in waiting rooms. Unlike the prestige volumes of the African Writers Series, Pacesetters were not written for international literary recognition. They were written for Nigerians who wanted to see themselves in fiction — and they succeeded.

In recent decades, these books have become extraordinarily difficult to find. Most were never reprinted; many have disappeared entirely from institutional collections. Our 130-volume set — one of the largest known single collections — is therefore a genuinely rare cultural archive, preserving a stratum of Nigerian literary production that has been largely overlooked by academic and preservation institutions alike.

Acquisition Notes

Assembled over two years from market traders, estate sales, and private collectors across Lagos, Ibadan, and Benin City. Several volumes exist in only a handful of known copies.

Access & Visit

Physical location

No Parking Lagos, Lagos

How to access

library@olongoafrica.com

Supported by

This acquisition was made possible through the OlongoAfrica Library project, funded by the Open Society Foundations.

No Parking Lagos

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