ABOUT OTC
What if Kwaku Ananse was just a teenage girl in 21st century Ghana?
In 2017, Ghanaian storyteller Akotowaa branded herself “The Spider Kid” and launched On the Ceiling, a multifaceted storytelling project which explores the legends of famous Akan trickster spider, Kwaku Ananse, in a brand-new context.
Kwaku Ananse became “Kuukua Annan”, a troublesome fifteen-year-old Ghanaian schoolgirl in middle-class Accra. From May 2017 to November 2017, Akotowaa released a short story each month for free on her blog. These initial 8 stories make up OTC 1: The Complete Kuukua Collection, which is available to download for free.
In 2019, Akotowaa released OTC 2: Green Green Grasses, an 8-episode scripted podcast series which translated each of Kuukua’s adventures from OTC 1 back into traditional Ananse story format. This podcast was created with the assistance of Joshua Adjeman (Tronomie) and a superbly talented cast of friends, collaborators, and artists. The series is available to listen to for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud.
In 2024, Akotowaa gears up to release OTC 3, the final arm of the OTC project: The Okonore Trilogy. This series of three novelettes thrusts Yaw Connor, a secondary character from OTC 1, into the limelight. Yaw grapples with a confusing heritage of his own as he enlists his friends’ help in completing a pressing quest concerning Okonore Yaa, whom the Akan stories name as the wife of Kwaku Ananse.
OTC 1: The Complete Kuukua Collection
A free-to-download e-book file.
What if Kwaku Ananse was a teenage girl in the year 2017?
In a single collection, read 8 different short stories featuring the Ghanaian trickster, Kuukua Annan, as she navigates the transitions from junior secondary to senior high school, and stunning revelations about her spidery paternal legacy. 🕷️
OTC 2: Green Green Grasses
An 8-episode Anansesɛm podcast, free to listen to.
What if every Ananse story was just a retelling of a real Ananse’s exploits?
Green Green Grasses transforms each story from OTC 1: The Complete Kuukua Collection, into a more traditional Ananse story format. The podcast series is best appreciated in tandem with OTC 1 but can also be enjoyed in isolation. Suitable for very young listeners. 🕷️
OTC 3: The Okonore Trilogy
COMING SOON!
Three free-to-download e-book files.
What if Ananse’s wife, Okonore Yaa, was so much more than the legends suggest?
The 3 novelettes in this series are the direct sequel to OTC 1: The Complete Kuukua Collection. Yaw Connor, Kuukua’s oldest friend, is faced with a challenge that he cannot solve without the help of his friends. 🕷️
Support the Creator
OTC is free to consume. However, creating and distributing art costs time and money, particularly for a project such as this, which involves extensive collaboration. Your support enables Akotowaa to keep creating, and to compensate her collaborators.