It's not necessarily cinema-related, but the author is someone whose name and work have been mentioned several times here on S&A (including her now very famous and influential TED talk – The Danger of a Single Story – which many of us continue to quote from in conversations about black/African cinema).

By all accounts, she's become something of a superstar, and has transcended the literary universe (even though I wouldn't call her a household name yet).

Of course I'm referring to multiple award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who shot to prominence with her novels, Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun (which is being adapted to film with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, John Boyega and others starring; a project, you'll recall, caused quite a stir around the blogosphere, when Newton was cast to play an Igbo woman).

Fans of Adichie will be thrilled to know that, based on information I received this evening, Adichie is set to release her third novel, titled Americanah, on May 14, 2013, published by Knopf.

The synopsis for the 352-page hardcover reads as follows:

A story of love and race centred around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home. As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. Ifemelu—beautiful, self-assured—departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze—the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor—had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion—for their homeland and for each other—they will face the toughest decisions of their lives. Fearless, gripping, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story of love and expectation set in today’s globalized world.

Needless to say, I'm intrigued. It sounds, dare I say, epic!

As an FYI, the term 'Americanah' is a derogatory word used in Nigeria to label other Nigerians who have become too *Americanized.*

Apparently Adichie read from the novel, while it was in progress, at Havard University, in April, earlier this year. Anyone happen to attend?

May 2013 might seem like a long time away, but it really isn't. Those who have yet to read any of her work, you have about 7 months to play catch-up. Both Purple Hibiscus and Half Of A Yellow Sun are available widely.

Who knows… there might be another film adaptation of one of her novels, and it just might be titled Americanah.

And if you haven't see her rousing Danger Of A Single Story TED talk, watch it all below: