Aminatta Forna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aminatta Forna OBE
Forna in Frankfurt am Main, 2008
Born	20 December 1965 Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Occupation	Author, academic, commentator
Alma mater	University College London
Notable works	The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest (2003); Ancestor Stones (2006); The Memory of Love (2010); The Hired Man (2013); Happiness (2017); The Window Seat (2021)
Notable awards	Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award 2011; 2014 Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Fiction)
Spouse	Simon Westcott

Aminatta Forna is a British writer. She has family roots in both Scotland and Sierra Leone. She is known for her memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest (2002). She has also written several novels, including Ancestor Stones (2006) and The Memory of Love (2010). In 2021, she published a collection of essays called The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion.

Aminatta Forna has won many awards for her writing. Her novel The Memory of Love received the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2011. She also won the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for fiction in 2014.

Besides writing, Forna is a Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She also works at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She was honored with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2017 for her contributions to literature.

About Aminatta Forna

Aminatta Forna was born in 1965 in Bellshill, Scotland. Her father, Mohamed Sorie Forna, was a doctor from Sierra Leone. Her mother, Maureen Christison, was Scottish.

When Aminatta was six months old, her family moved to Sierra Leone. Her father worked there as a doctor and later as a government minister. Aminatta lived in many different homes and countries as a child, including Iran, Thailand, and Zambia.

Her parents later divorced. Her father became more involved in politics after Sierra Leone became independent. He resigned from his government role because he was worried about political problems. Sadly, he was arrested and put in prison. He was held from 1970 to 1973. In 1975, he died in prison after being accused of serious crimes against the government.

Aminatta was ten years old when her father died. Her stepmother helped Aminatta and her siblings move to England. Aminatta finished school there and studied law at University College London.

Early Career and Work

From 1989 to 1999, Aminatta Forna worked for the BBC. She was a reporter and made documentaries about arts and politics. Some of her well-known documentaries include Through African Eyes (1995) and The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu (2009).

In 2013, she became a Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She also helps choose winners for important book awards, like the Man Booker International Prize.

Aminatta Forna also started a charity called The Rogbonko Village Project. This project helped build a school in a village in Sierra Leone. She is married to Simon Westcott, who designs furniture. They live in London.

Her Books and Stories

Aminatta Forna's writing often explores themes of war, memory, and how personal stories compare to official history. She looks at how small acts of betrayal can lead to bigger problems. She uses different voices and timelines in her novels.

The Devil that Danced on the Water

The Devil That Danced on the Water (2002) was Aminatta Forna's first book. It is a memoir, which means it's a true story about her own life. The book was very popular and was even broadcast on BBC Radio. It was also a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.

In this book, Forna shares her journey back to Sierra Leone. She wanted to understand what happened to her father. She talked to many people and learned more about the events that led to his death. This personal quest is a big part of her memoir. The experience of writing this book helped her explore themes of emotional pain in her later novels.

Ancestor Stones

Ancestor Stones was Forna's first novel, published in 2006. It won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in the US and the LiBeraturpreis in Germany. It was also nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award.

The Washington Post newspaper chose Ancestor Stones as one of the most important books of 2006. Vanity Fair magazine also named Forna as one of Africa's best new writers in 2007.

The Memory of Love

The Memory of Love (2010) won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in 2011. The judges called it "a bold, deeply moving and accomplished novel." They said Forna was "among the most talented writers in literature today." This book was also a finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Girl Rising

Aminatta Forna was one of ten writers who contributed to the film 10x10 Girl Rising (2012). This film shares the stories of ten girls from ten different developing countries. Famous actresses like Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett narrated the stories.

Forna wrote about a girl named Mariama from Sierra Leone. Mariama is smart and studies engineering. She wants to help other young girls get an education.

The Hired Man

The Hired Man (2013) is Forna's third novel. Critics praised how well she described places and feelings in the book. They also liked her strong characters and clear writing.

The Boston Globe newspaper said that the book showed how history can be hidden from people who weren't there. It also showed how people do what they need to do to survive.

Happiness

Happiness (2018) is Aminatta Forna's fourth novel. It explores ideas about love, difficult experiences, moving to new places, and belonging. It also looks at how people can become stronger after going through hard times.

The story is about a psychiatrist from Ghana, Dr. Attila Asara, and an American woman, Jean Turane. They meet by chance and their relationship grows. Dr. Asara suggests that people should not try to live a "wrinkle-free" life. He believes that living through some discomfort helps you live a full life. He compares people who have survived difficult events to foxes who outsmart humans. Both try to overcome challenges to live a normal life.

Happiness was listed as one of the best books of the year by many publications. It was also a finalist for the Ondaatje Prize and the Jhalak Prize in 2019.

The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion

In 2021, Aminatta Forna published The Window Seat, a collection of essays. Essays are a new type of writing for her. She said she was encouraged to write essays because they are very popular in the United States.

Time magazine chose The Window Seat as one of twelve "must-read" books in May 2021. Reviewers praised her direct, clear, and brave writing style. They noted how she combines personal stories with bigger political ideas. The Los Angeles Times said her essays were "intelligent, curious and broad."

Mother of All Myths

Mother of All Myths is a novel written by Aminatta Forna. It was released in July 1998 and published by HarperCollins.

Awards and Honours

Aminatta Forna has received many important awards for her writing:

• 2011: Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (for The Memory of Love)
• 2014: Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for Fiction. This is one of the largest literary prizes in the world.
• 2017: Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature.

See also

In Spanish: Aminatta Forna para niños