Selali Fiamanya: 'I’m interested in miscommunication, particularly in love'
BY Maya Fernandes
27th Feb 2025
Selali Fiamanya studied on our inaugural Breakthrough Novel-Writing Course for Black Writers in 2021. We caught up to discuss the release of his debut novel, Before We Hit the Ground – out now from The Borough Press.
We spoke to Selali about his experience on the course, the inspiration behind his debut novel and the importance of finding a writing community.
Selali, you took our Breakthrough Novel-Writing Course for Black Writers in 2021. How did that experience impact your writing approach?
It changed everything! Firstly, it made me take myself seriously as a writer, because the course organisers, participants and tutors took me seriously. I went from thinking ‘I’m someone who likes to write stories now and then’ to ‘I’m a writer’ thanks to that course. It also improved my understanding of the mechanics of plot, character development and voice, in particular due to Jacob Ross’ workshops on story – I referred to those notes repeatedly whilst writing Before We Hit the Ground.
Many of our students go on to form lasting friendships during our courses. Do you still keep in touch with anyone you met during the course?
Yes – we have an active WhatsApp group, and 4 years later, still meet up on Zoom most months to congratulate and commiserate each other on our writing, and just catch up on life. It’s a wonderful, supportive, intergenerational community, and I’m grateful to have them.
Elom, the protagonist of Before We Hit The Ground, is grappling with issues of identity, sexuality and belonging. How did you approach creating his character, and what are the key messages you hope readers will take away from his journey?
Elom existed in my head long before the novel. I’d initially written a few character sketches about a man who feels a bit disconnected from the people around him, often based on similar feelings I or people close to me had had. The Curtis Brown Creative course turned him from a sketch into a concrete character by encouraging me to burrow down into his 'lack' – the thing that he’s missing, and searching for, the thing that’s driving him. Once I’d done that character work, I was able to situate it against those of the other characters and bounce them off each other to drive the story forward.
Your novel moves between Ghana, Glasgow and London. How do these locations play a role in the story?
The parents in the family – Abena and Kodjo – meet in Ghana in the 80s and move to Glasgow to raise their family. The kids – Elom and Djifa – grow up there, but then both move themselves to London to live their own lives. All three locations work to question the meaning of home. Is it where you’re from, or where you choose? Do we have any choice in the matter? Our ideas of what home should look like, and how it should feel, are often overwrought. Nowhere can live up to our fantasies, particularly if we feel restless internally. The contrasts of the locations in the book explore that – despite how different the options are, it can still be hard to feel at home in any of them.
The story of Before We Hit The Ground is told from multiple perspectives. What inspired you to use this narrative style?
As mentioned, Elom existed as a character long before the others, but it only became a novel when Abena, Kodzo and Djifa came into the picture. In fact, the chapter they first appeared in was my submission to the CBC course, and didn’t feature Elom at all. It went on to become the book’s opener.
I’m interested in miscommunication, particularly in love. We can only know what’s in our own heads, and using multiple perspectives helps explore this – we can see (and hopefully understand) how and why misunderstandings happen. It gives a dramatic irony to the reader, but also a sense of sadness (or perhaps frustration) at how so many things could be better if we all communicated more clearly.
Your novel has drawn comparisons to writers like Caleb Azumah Nelson and Yaa Gyasi. Which authors have you been enjoying recently?
Remi Graves (my CBC peer) has a wondrous pamphlet called with your chest, which makes me excited about the possibilities of language – words are a pliable substance in their hands, which we can use to give form to our inner worlds. Babel by R.F. Kuang set my mind alight with the possibilities of nerdy, plot driven, political, fantastical fiction. The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong transported me back to noughties Glasgow, and has been a lesson in writing true to yourself and your stories, and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is an insight into the beauty of writing nature.
For anyone currently working on their first novel, what advice would you give to help them stay motivated throughout the process?
Firstly – find community. Friends or from workshops; online or in person. They keep you motivated, accountable, and keep the writing fun. Secondly, be less precious about your work. Write a zine and share it with your friends, start a blog that no one reads, read your work out at open mic nights. Musicians get to share their work all the time, and have fun doing it, why can’t writers?
And finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
I’m (slowly) working on my next book. In October, I’ll spend two weeks at the Gladstone Library as a writer in residence, and then six weeks in New York as a Hawthornden writer in residence, and hope to have something like a finished draft by then. Wish me luck!
Get your hands on a copy of Before We Hit the Ground.
The books linked in this blog can be found on our Bookshop.org shop front. Curtis Brown Creative receive 10% whenever someone buys from our bookshop.org page.