U.M. Agoawike | SFFH Author

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Out Now

Black as Diamond

A fresh, dark, and thrilling debut that untangles questions of queer identity, history, and power, illuminating a society crushed by the lingering actions of a few.

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About

U.M. Agoawike is a Nigerian-Canadian author of speculative fiction. Black as Diamond is their first novel.They are represented by Emily Forney of BookEnds Literary.

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Media kit

Contact

Questions, comments, concerns? Use the form. For publishing-related inquiries contact Emily Forney at BookEnds Literary.

3D cover of Black As Diamond. The cover depicts a jagged dark blue gem sprouting from the bottom right with a twisted tree and tower embedded in it, and two white birds in the top left. Golden text for the title and white text for the author's name.

Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 • Out Now • Mar 3 2026 •

Illustration: Christian Chang
Design: Charlotte Strick

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UK

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Audiobook

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A cursed warrior. A reckless healer. A chance to save the world—or destroy it.

Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting a long-dead enemy. When his brother’s squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal—and unbreakable—curse that could wipe out his people.

When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, a former healer-in-training playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru’s curse. But the secrets they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.

Explicit gore, murder/death, graphic violence, fight scenes, loss of limb, mutilation, descriptions of corpses, blood, bloodletting, nosebleeds, atypical depression, suicidal ideation, depictions of religion and religious practices, implied sexual content, sex work (mentioned), non-consensual kiss, non-consensual drug use, ethnic discrimination, near drowning, indentured servitude (mentioned), body horror, emesis, excessive alcohol consumption, poison, physical scars, possession

Press & Reviews

The Gloss BookclubBooklist OnlineSPECFIC by bookish_mkPublishers Weekly5 Exciting Fantasy Novels by Black Authors for Your 2026 TBR (Bookriot)Curses, Kidnappings, and Quests: Romantasy Report for March and April 2026 (Reactor)

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction: January-June 2026 (LGBTQ Reads)All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in March 2026 (Reactor)86 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in March (Gizmodo)Violence, Vengeance, and a Cup of Tea | 2025 SF & Fantasy Preview (Library Journal)

Praise for
Black as Diamond

"Black as Diamond is haunting and ethereal, balanced with the warmth of found family. This is a cast of characters you are bound to fall in love with as they fumble their way toward one another, seeking connection in a world that is falling apart.”—Andrea Stewart, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Shard Daughter

“With vivid prose, bone-rattling action, and a queer romance as tender as it is thunderous, Black as Diamond is a dark fantasy gem from the glittering heart of the genre.”—Sophia Slade, author of Nightstrider

“This is the sort of fantasy I love. Layered, detailed world building, lush prose, lovable but flawed found family, and a central magical mystery tying it all together. Black as Diamond is a triumph!”—M. H. Ayinde, author of A Song of Legends Lost

“U. M. Agoawike combines truly epic world building and breathtaking action to create a wholly original, harrowing dark fantasy. Black as Diamond is a gut punch of a debut novel.”—Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief

“A wickedly original epic fantasy bound by the familiar threads of friendship, family, and fate. Agoawike's masterful worldbuilding is in rare balance with characters who shine bright within a world where nobody quite fits, and nothing is as it seems. Dark but boldly hopeful, Black as Diamond is fantasy at its most brilliant!”—Fiona Fenn, author of The Crack at the Heart of Everything

“Cast against a dark, lush world of intricate magic and dynamic characters, Black as Diamond is a fantasy of epic proportions.”—C. S. Pacat, author of Dark Rise, Captive Prince, and Fence