Helen Oyeyemi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Oyeyemi
FRSL
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Helen Oyeyemi in January 2021
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| Born | Helen Oyeyemi 10 December 1984 Ibadan, Nigeria |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours (2016) |
| Notable awards | PEN Open Book Award |
Helen Oyeyemi (born on December 10, 1984) is a talented British writer. She is known for her novels and short stories. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, which is a special honor for writers.
Contents
Life Story of Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. When she was four years old, her family moved to Lewisham, a part of South London. She grew up there and started her writing journey early.
Helen wrote her very first novel, called The Icarus Girl, while she was still in high school. She was studying for her A-levels at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School at the time. After high school, she went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, a famous university. Since 2013, Helen has made her home in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic.
Her Amazing Writing Career
While Helen was at college, she also wrote plays. Two of her plays, Juniper's Whitening and Victimese, were performed by other students. Later, a company called Methuen published them in 2014.
Early Novels and Awards
In 2007, Bloomsbury published Helen's second novel, The Opposite House. This book was inspired by Cuban mythology, which are old stories and beliefs. Her third novel, White Is for Witching, came out in May 2009. This book was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award in 2009. It also won a Somerset Maugham Award in 2010, which is a prize for young British writers. In 2009, a magazine called Venus Zine listed Helen as one of the "25 under 25" talented young women.
More Books and Recognition
Helen's fourth novel, Mr Fox, was published in June 2011. In 2013, she was chosen for the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. This list highlights some of the best young writers in Britain. Her fifth novel, Boy, Snow, Bird, was published in 2014. It was also a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize that same year.
In 2016, Helen published What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours. This book is a collection of short stories. It won the PEN Open Book Award in 2016. This award celebrates great books by authors of color. Her novel Gingerbread was published on March 5, 2019. Another novel, Peaces, came out on April 1, 2021.
Her most recent novel is Parasol Against the Axe, published in February 2024. This book is special because it's the first one she has set in the Czech Republic, where she has lived for over ten years.
Judging Books and Awards
Helen Oyeyemi has been asked to be a judge for several important book awards. This means she helps choose the best books.
- In 2015, she was a judge for the Booktrust Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
- She also helped judge the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
- In 2018, Helen was a judge for the International Booker Prize.
- Most recently, in 2023, she was a judge for the Goldsmiths Prize.
Giving Special Lectures
Because Helen is such a respected writer, she is often invited to give special talks.
- On April 25, 2017, she gave a talk called "Shine or Go Crazy" in Seattle. She focused on Korean television dramas during this lecture.
- In 2023, she gave the annual New Statesman/Goldsmiths Prize lecture in London. Her topic was "Trying."
- In 2024, Helen delivered the Richard Hillary Memorial Lecture at Trinity College, Oxford.
