The Emperor's Son

Vamba Sherif (born 1973 in Kolahun, Liberia) is a Liberian-born novelist, essayist, critic, and lecturer in African literature based in the Netherlands. He writes in both English and Dutch, and his work often explores identity, exile, history, and the impacts of war and migration.

Sherif’s novels include Land of My Fathers, The Kingdom of Sebah, Bound to Secrecy, The Witness, and the sweeping historical epic The Emperor’s Son, which imagines 19th-century West Africa through the eyes of a young warrior.

His writings and literary criticism have appeared internationally, and he has participated in major festivals and academic forums, bringing African historical narratives and post-colonial themes to a global audience.