Comfort Mussa, the multi-award-winning Cameroonian journalist and gender and disability rights advocate, will publish her debut novella with Bakwa Books in August 2026.
The novella, The Shape of Unbroken Things/Ce Qu’on Ne Brise Pas, is a work of young adult fiction that captures the fragile intensity of adolescence and is unlike anything ever published before, globally, in terms of accessible publishing.
Following a life-altering amputation, Iya struggles to rebuild her sense of self while navigating cruelty and alienation at a new school. Her growing bond with Mambo, a girl shaped by the quiet world of her mother, a woman with hearing and speech disabilities, becomes a powerful space of mutual recognition. Together, they confront the pressures placed upon them and find in friendship and art new ways of imagining themselves.
More than a novella, The Shape of Unbroken Things is a publishing experiment in what a book can hold and who it can reach. Produced by Bakwa Books with accessibility at its core, the publication is a bilingual English–French tête-bêche edition, inviting readers to encounter the story from either direction. It is also available in both English and French braille editions and as an eBook, with an audiobook forthcoming, extending the novella beyond the printed page.
The braille editions are produced in partnership with Coco Bertin and the Inclusive Vocational Training Institute, who are translating the novella into English and French braille. The Shape of Unbroken Things is for readers who read with their eyes, ears, hands, and hearts, and stands as a testament to why physical books still matter.
Comfort Mussa is a Cameroonian writer and multi-award-winning journalist, as well as a renowned gender and disability rights advocate. She is the founder of SisterSpeak237, a platform amplifying underreported stories and advancing inclusion. The Shape of Unbroken Things is her first novella.
The Shape of Unbroken Things (86 pages, paperback, ISBN 979-8-9872914-7-4) will be published by Bakwa Books in August.
Founded in 2011 by Dzekashu MacViban, Bakwa is a Cameroon-based literary and cultural platform encompassing Bakwa Magazine, Bakwa Books, and BakwaCast. Committed to reimagining who gets to tell African stories and how, Bakwa champions experimental writing, multilingual publishing, and pan-African literary exchange through initiatives such as the Bakwa Story Prize and cross-continental workshops. Its imprint, Bakwa Books, has published acclaimed writers including Mongo Beti, Hemley Boum, Nana Nkweti, and Bate Besong, establishing itself as a vital home for bold, boundary-pushing African literature
