Painted Bride Presents: candice iloh’s “EMEKA EAT EGUSI!” Release Party

Join us as we celebrate National Book Award finalist candice iloh, author of Every Body Looking, for the release of their debut picture book, EMEKA, EAT EGUSI!.

Hosted by the Painted Bride, the evening will feature a live interactive reading by Pemi Aguda, an exclusive short documentary by filmmaker jasmine lynea, and an artist talk with the author.

The celebration continues with Soukous and Afrobeats favorites played by DJ Oluwafemi, followed by book signings and a tasting of traditional cuisine.

This family-friendly event will include a low-sensory area for children who need space away from the main gathering, with supplies available for coloring and play.

An advance RSVP secures your copy of the new book and is highly encouraged. A limited number of copies will also be available for purchase on site.

Join us for an evening of literary art, film, music, food, and community.

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About the author:

Candice Iloh is a first-generation Nigerian American writer whose books center home. A National Book Award Finalist and two-time Printz Honoree, their young adult novels include Every Body Looking, Break This House, and Salt the Water. They are a proud alum of the Rhode Island Writers Colony and have earned fellowships from Lambda Literary, VONA, Kimbilio Fiction, and the PEW Center for Arts & Heritage. Currently a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and formerly a high school creative writing teacher, they have taught young people of every age. Emeka, Eat Egusi! is their debut picture book. Visit Candice online at CandiceIloh.com.

About the book:

From award-winning author Candice Iloh and New York Times illustrator Bea Jackson comes a “jovial…heartfelt” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) picture book celebration of traditional Nigerian home cooking and the surprising joys of trying new things, from the perspective of a boy on the autism spectrum.

Emeka’s favorite food is jollof rice. He eats it every day. “Emeka, come and try this egusi!” Mama and Papa urge. But orange rice is what Emeka knows. He doesn’t want anything different.

Then one day, Emeka comes home from school to find Mama in the kitchen waiting for him to help her cook egusi. One by one, new things go into the pot. There are so many colors and smells and sounds! And Emeka is a great helper. Could it be that trying something new might actually be…good?

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Contributor Bios:

Pemi Aguda is the author of the forthcoming One Leg on Earth and Ghostroots, a National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner finalist. She is from Lagos, Nigeria.

jasmine lynea is a queer storyteller, film director and visual artist who radically dreams beyond the boundaries of our reality. Their work navigates the fluid spaces between truth and myth, offering vibrant, unconventional narratives that envision a loving, queer, and colorful liberating future.

In 2022, jasmine wrote, directed and edited the short sci-fi fantasy film, The Love Machine which premiered at BlackStar Film Festival and streamed on the Xfinity channel.

In 2023, their eccentric work earned them fellowships and grants from Mural Arts, the Velocity Fund, Flaherty’s Queer-World Mending program, IPMF, and Scribe Video Center.

In the winter of 2025, jasmine was awarded the Paul Robeson Creative Arts Grant and began their participation in NextFab x Leeways artist-in-residence. At the end of the residency, jasmine held an opening reception for their immersive art installation, The Love Machine that debuted their collage work and wood art.

Oluwafemi is a Philadelphia-based rhythmist by way of Lagos, Nigeria, whose multidisciplinary practice explores rhythm and repetition as fundamental forces in music, visual art, and daily life. With over 15 years of experience as a deejay, music producer, muralist, designer, and VJ, he crafts immersive environments that draw from hip-hop, African symbology, and mathematics. His self-defined practice of rhythmism uses pattern as both method and message—an expressive system rooted in cultural memory and the universality of cycles. Whether through soundscapes, projections, or public drawings, Oluwafemi creates works that pulse with both ancestral resonance and futuristic vision. In 2024, he held a residency at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where he responded to early American artworks tied to African and Indigenous makers, culminating in a multimedia performance that amplified these histories through original video and music. His work invites audiences to experience rhythm not only as art—but as a way of being.