Nnedi Okorafor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nnedi Okorafor
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Okorafor in 2023
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| Born | Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor April 8, 1974 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, professor |
| Nationality | Nigerian American |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA) Michigan State University (MA)<2br />University of Illinois, Chicago (MA, PhD) |
| Genre | Science fiction, Africanfuturism Fantasy, Africanjujuism, Solarpunk |
| Notable awards | Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa The World Fantasy Award Nebula Award for Best Novella Hugo Award for Best Novella Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album — Reprint Lodestar Award Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel Carl Brandon Parallax Award |
| Children | 1 |
Nnedi Okorafor (born April 8, 1974) is a talented Nigerian American writer. She writes exciting science fiction and fantasy stories. Her books are for both young people and adults.
Nnedi is famous for her Binti Series. She also wrote popular novels like Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, and Lagoon. Her writing style is called Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism. She even created these terms herself! Her stories are deeply shaped by her Nigerian and American background. Nnedi has won many big awards, including the Hugo Award and World Fantasy Award. In 2024, she joined the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
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About Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1974. Her parents were Igbo Nigerians. They came to America for school in 1969. They could not go back to Nigeria because of the Nigerian Civil War. Nnedi has citizenship in both America and Nigeria.
She is the third of four children. Nnedi grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She often visited Nigeria for holidays with her family. Her first name, Nnedimma, means "mother is good" in the Igbo language.
When she was in Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Nnedi was a star athlete. She was great at tennis and track. She also loved math and science. For a while, she even wanted to study insects!
At age 13, Nnedi found out she had scoliosis, a curve in her spine. At 19, she had surgery. A rare problem during surgery caused her to become paralyzed from the waist down.
During her recovery, Nnedi started writing stories. She wrote them in the margins of a science fiction book. This was her first time writing anything creative. After a lot of physical therapy, she learned to walk again with a cane. She could no longer play sports. A friend suggested she take a creative writing class. By the end of that class, she was writing her first novel!
Nnedi went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned a master's degree from Michigan State University. She also got a master's degree and PhD from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has taught at several universities. Today, she lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her family.
Nnedi's Amazing Books
Nnedi Okorafor has written many award-winning books. Her stories often blend African culture with futuristic ideas.
Early Works and Young Adult Novels
In 2001, Nnedi won a Hurston-Wright literary award for her short story "Amphibious Green." She then published two popular books for young adults:
- Zahrah the Windseeker
- The Shadow Speaker
The Shadow Speaker won the Carl Brandon Parallax Award. It was also a finalist for other awards. Her children's book, Long Juju Man, won the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa.
Novels for Adults
Nnedi's first novel for adults was Who Fears Death. It won the 2011 World Fantasy Award. The story before it, The Book of Phoenix, also won an award in Germany.
Her science fiction novel Lagoon was nominated for several awards. It tells the story of aliens arriving in Lagos, Nigeria.
In 2020, Nnedi released her middle grade novel Ikenga. It was nominated for the Edgar Award. Her science fiction novella Remote Control came out in 2021. It is set in Ghana. Her adult novel Noor was released later that year. It takes place in a future Nigeria.
The Binti Trilogy
Nnedi is very well-known for her Binti trilogy. This series of novellas includes:
- Binti (2015)
- Binti: Home (2017)
- Binti: The Night Masquerade (2018)
The first book, Binti, won both the 2016 Nebula Award and the 2016 Hugo Award for best novella. The other books in the series also received Hugo nominations. In 2016, a Nigerian bank gave away 24,000 copies of Nnedi's novel Akata Witch in several African countries.
The Nsibidi Scripts Series
Nnedi also wrote the Nsibidi Scripts Series for young adults:
- Akata Witch (2011)
- Akata Warrior (2018)
- Akata Woman (2022)
Akata Warrior won the 2018 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book. When Akata Woman was released, the series appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Stories on Screen
Nnedi's stories have been turned into films and TV shows!
- Her short story "Hello, Moto" became a short film called Hello, Rain. It's about a woman who uses witchcraft and technology to fight corruption.
- In 2017, HBO announced they would make Who Fears Death into a TV series. George R. R. Martin, who wrote Game of Thrones, is helping produce it. Nnedi is also a consultant for the show.
- Nnedi is helping write the screenplays for other adaptations. These include Octavia Butler's Wild Seed for Amazon Prime Video. She is also working on her own Binti trilogy for Hulu.
- In 2024, her novel Lagoon began development for a film by Amblin Entertainment.
Other Creative Work
Nnedi has done many other exciting projects:
- She wrote a play called Full Moon in 2005.
- She was a special guest at Detcon1 in 2014. This was a big science fiction convention that focused on young adult science fiction.
- In 2017, Nnedi gave a speech at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania.
- She has written for Marvel Comics! She wrote for the Black Panther comic series. She also wrote a comic about Black Panther's sister, Shuri.
- Her non-fiction book, Broken Places & Outer Spaces, came out in 2019. It's about finding creativity in unexpected places.
- Her comic book series LaGuardia won an Eisner Award and a Hugo Award in 2020.
Nnedi's Writing Style
Nnedi Okorafor's books show both her West African background and her American life. She calls herself "Naijamerican" to show how important both parts of her identity are. She says living between these two cultures helps her see things in a unique way. This leads her to write her special kind of "strange fiction."
Nnedi noticed that fantasy and science fiction often lacked diverse characters. She wanted to change that! She writes stories set in Africa with black characters in important roles. She says Nigeria is her "muse." She is inspired by Nigerian folklore, myths, and magic.
Her stories often explore important social issues. These include fairness, violence, and protecting the environment. She uses fantasy to talk about these topics. Nnedi says her stories are always about "the women and girls around me and also within myself."
Nnedi also believes her writing and being a mother go hand-in-hand. She feels they balance each other.
She has also created new terms for her writing style. She uses "africanfuturism" and "africanjujuism." She wrote an essay in 2019 explaining what these terms mean.
World Fantasy Award and Its History
When Nnedi won the World Fantasy Award in 2011, she felt mixed emotions. The award statue was a bust of H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft was a famous writer, but he was also known for his racist views. Nnedi spoke about this, saying it's important to face the history of literature. She supported changing the award statue to honor Octavia Butler, another great science fiction writer.
Awards and Recognition
Nnedi Okorafor has won many awards for her amazing writing. Here are some of them:
- Hugo Award for Binti (Best Novella, 2016) and LaGuardia (Best Graphic Album, 2021)
- Nebula Award for Binti (Best Novella, 2016)
- World Fantasy Award for Who Fears Death (Best Novel, 2011)
- Locus Award for Akata Warrior (Best Young Adult Book, 2019)
- Eisner Award for LaGuardia (Best Graphic Album - Reprint, 2021)
- Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa for Zahrah the Windseeker (2008)
- Macmillan Writers' Prize for Africa for Long Juju Man (2007–2008)
- Nommo Award for Binti (Best Novella, 2016) and Shuri (Best Graphic Novel, 2019)
Images for kids
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Nnedi Okorafor in 2023
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Nnedi Okorafor in 2017
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Nnedi Okorafor signing books in 2024.
See also
In Spanish: Nnedi Okorafor para niños
