Nadifa Mohamed facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nadifa Mohamed نظيفة محمد FRSL
Born	Nadiifa Maxamed 1981 (age 43–44) Hargeisa, Somali Democratic Republic (now Somaliland)
Nationality	British, born Somali
Alma mater	St Hilda's College, Oxford
Occupation	Novelist
Notable work	Black Mamba Boy (2010) The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013) The Fortune Men (2021)
Movement	Realism, historical fiction
Awards	Betty Trask Award (2010) Somerset Maugham Award (2014) Prix Albert Bernard (2016) Wales Book of the Year (2022)

Nadifa Mohamed (born in 1981) is a famous Somali-British author. She is known for writing novels that are often based on real history.

In 2013, a magazine called Granta named her one of the "Best of Young British Novelists." The next year, she was included on the Africa39 list. This list celebrated 39 talented writers from Africa under the age of 40.

Her 2021 novel, The Fortune Men, was chosen for the final list of the Booker Prize. This made her the first British-Somali author to receive this great honor. Besides novels, she has also written short stories, essays, and poems. Mohamed has also taught Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London and New York University.

Personal Life and Background

Nadifa Mohamed was born in 1981 in Hargeisa, a city in what is now Somaliland. Her father worked as a sailor, and her mother was a landlady.

In 1986, when she was a child, her family moved to London. They only planned to stay for a short time. However, a major conflict called the Somali Civil War began in their home country. This made it unsafe to return, so the family stayed in the United Kingdom.

Mohamed later went to St Hilda's College, Oxford, a famous university. There, she studied history and politics. In 2008, she visited her hometown of Hargeisa for the first time in over twenty years. Today, she lives in London.

Writing Career

Mohamed's books often explore Somali history and the lives of people who have been forgotten or treated unfairly.

Black Mamba Boy (2010)

Her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, tells a story based on her father's life. It is set in Yemen during the 1930s and 1940s. Mohamed said she wrote the book to learn more about her family's past and to share Somali history with more people.

The book was a big success. It won the 2010 Betty Trask Award and was nominated for many other awards, including the Guardian First Book Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize.

The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013)

Her second novel, The Orchard of Lost Souls, is set in Somalia just before the civil war started. While her first book was about fathers and sons, this one focuses on mothers and daughters.

This book also won awards, including the 2014 Somerset Maugham Award. It was also nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize.

The Fortune Men (2021)

Mohamed's third novel, The Fortune Men, is based on the true story of Mahmood Mattan. Mattan was a Somali sailor in Cardiff, Wales, who was wrongfully accused of murder in 1952. He was the last man to be executed in Cardiff. Mohamed's father knew him.

The book tells his story and shines a light on the injustice he faced. Critics praised the book, calling it powerful and compassionate. The Fortune Men was shortlisted for the famous Booker Prize in 2021. In 2022, it won three awards at the Wales Book of the Year ceremony, including the main prize.

Television Work

Mohamed has also worked as a presenter for television documentaries.

In 2023, she presented Britain’s Human Zoos for Channel 4. The documentary explored a sad part of British history from the late 1800s. It showed how Black and Brown people were sometimes put on display for entertainment, which was deeply unfair.

She also presented a film called Churchill: Britain's Secret Apartheid in 2024. This documentary looked at how people in Britain reacted when American soldiers arrived during World War II. The U.S. army had official rules based on race, and the film explored the problems this caused.

Awards and Honors

• 2010: Betty Trask Prize for Black Mamba Boy
• 2013: Named one of Granta magazine's "Best of Young British Novelists"
• 2014: Chosen for the Africa39 list of promising young African writers
• 2014: Somerset Maugham Award for The Orchard of Lost Souls
• 2018: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
• 2022: Wales Book of the Year for The Fortune Men
• 2024: Received an honorary doctorate degree from Royal Holloway, University of London for her amazing work in literature.

Works

Novels

• Black Mamba Boy (2010)
• The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013)
• The Fortune Men (2021)

Selected Shorter Writings

• "Filsan", Granta 123: Best of Young British Novelists 4, 16 April 2013.
• "Migrants for whom the Sahara proved a graveyard started out in hope", The Guardian, 1 November 2013.
• "Sasayama", Granta 127: Japan, 25 June 2014.
• "Somalis returning to the motherland are finding their foreign ways out of favour", The Guardian, 11 September 2015.
• "Britain’s clampdown on FGM is leaving young girls traumatised", The Guardian, 7 September 2017.
• "How many dead Somalis does it take for us to care?", The Guardian, 23 October 2017.
• "What We Lost in the Grenfell Tower Fire", LitHub, 24 October 2017.