Tochi Onyebuchi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tochi Onyebuchi
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Onyebuchi at the 2017 Texas Book Festival
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| Born | October 4, 1987 Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, lawyer |
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| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, young adult, Afrofuturist |
| Years active | 2017–present |
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Tochi Onyebuchi, born on October 4, 1987, is an American author. He writes exciting science fiction and fantasy stories. He also used to be a lawyer who worked to protect people's rights.
His book, Riot Baby, won important awards like the Alex Award and the World Fantasy Award in 2021. Tochi Onyebuchi is known for including ideas about fairness, equality, and a future where Black culture is celebrated in his books. This style is called Afrofuturism.
Early Life and Inspirations
Tochi Onyebuchi was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. His parents were Igbo immigrants from Nigeria. His first name, Tochi, means "praise God" in the Igbo language.
His family lived in New Britain, Connecticut, then moved to Newington, Connecticut. He went to Choate Rosemary Hall school.
Growing Up Between Cultures
Tochi felt like he was "in-between" cultures. He was born in America, but his parents were from Nigeria. He could trace his family back many generations, but he wasn't fully Nigerian. This feeling of being in-between helped him understand different viewpoints.
Favorite Books and Comics
As a kid, Tochi loved to read. He was a big fan of X-Men comics, especially the character Black Panther. He enjoyed adventure and science fiction stories the most. His favorite book was the manga series Blade of the Immortal.
In high school, he studied in France for a year. There, he discovered The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. He was inspired to learn that Dumas had African ancestors. Tochi wrote a lot when he was young and even tried to sell his first novel in high school.
Education and Learning
Tochi Onyebuchi went to Yale University and studied political science. He also spent a summer in Morocco learning Arabic. Later, he earned a master's degree in screenwriting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While studying, he worked at Marvel Comics.
He also got another master's degree in Global Economic Law in France. Then, he went to Columbia Law School and became a lawyer. During law school, he became more aware of the differences in life experiences for white and Black Americans.
Writing Career
After law school, Tochi Onyebuchi became a civil rights lawyer. He worked to help people and prisoners. This work was very demanding, and he realized he wanted to help in a different way. He decided to focus on writing.
He used his two-hour train commute each day to write. In 2019, he left his job to become a full-time writer.
First Novels and Success
Tochi started writing novels when he was in high school. He wrote 17 novels over 15 years before his first one was published. He kept trying new projects instead of giving up.
His first published novel was Beasts Made of Night (2017). It's a young adult book set in a mythical world inspired by Nigerian stories. This book won the 2018 Ilube Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel by an African. He wrote a sequel called Crown of Thunder in 2018.
He then wrote the War Girls series for young adults. This series includes War Girls (2019) and Rebel Sisters (2020). War Girls takes place in Nigeria in the year 2172. It uses ideas from historical events like the Biafran War.
Riot Baby and Its Impact
In 2020, Tochi published Riot Baby. This book is about a brother named Kev and his sister who has special powers. Kev is born during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Tochi used his experience as a lawyer to write about Kev being wrongly held at Rikers Island.
He was inspired to write Riot Baby after hearing about the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin. He wanted to turn his anger and sadness into art. Riot Baby won several awards, including the Alex Award and the World Fantasy Award. It was also a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Adult Science Fiction
In 2022, Tochi Onyebuchi's first science fiction novel for adults, Goliath, was published. This book is set in 2050. The rich people have moved to space, leaving the poor on a crumbling Earth. Through Goliath, Tochi talks about problems like unfair income, gentrification, and racism. Publishers Weekly called it "urgent, gorgeous work."
His short stories have appeared in many magazines like Asimov's Science Fiction and Uncanny Magazine.
Non-Fiction Writing
In 2021, Tochi wrote a non-fiction book called (S)kinfolk. In this book, he shares how reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie affected him. He realized he hadn't seen himself reflected in a novel until he was 26. Publishers Weekly described (S)kinfolk as a "moving blend of criticism and memoir."
Comics and Video Games
Tochi Onyebuchi has also written for comics. His first comic story was for Marvel's Voices: Legacy. In 2021, Marvel announced he would write a new series called Black Panther Legends. This series focuses on the origin story of the Black Panther. Tochi was very excited to write for a character he loved as a child.
In 2022, he wrote Captain America #0 and Captain America: Symbol of Truth for Marvel. He also helped write the video game Call of Duty: Vanguard in 2021.
Awards and Honors
Tochi Onyebuchi has received many awards for his writing:
- 2021 AABMC Literary Award – Riot Baby
- 2021 Alex Award, American Library Association – Riot Baby
- 2021 Ignyte Award, Community Award for Outstanding Efforts in Service of Inclusion and Equitable Practice in Genre – #PublishingPaidMe, with L. L. McKinney
- 2021 Ignyte Award for Best in Creative Nonfiction – "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"
- 2021 Ignyte Award for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2021 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2020 New England Book Award for Fiction – Riot Baby
- 2018 Nommo Award for Best Novel – Beasts Made of Night
Nominations
He has also been nominated for many other awards:
- 2021 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist for Best in Creative Nonfiction – "Fine Weather, Isn't It?"
- 2021 Locus Award Finalist for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2021 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work – Riot Baby
- 2021 Nommo Award Nominee for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2020 Ignyte Award Finalist for Best Novel Young Adult – War Girls
- 2020 Locus Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Novel – War Girls
- 2020 Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novella – Riot Baby
- 2020 Nommo Award Nominee for Best Novel – War Girls
Personal Life
Tochi Onyebuchi lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
Published Works
Nonfiction
- (S)kinfolk: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah. Fiction Advocate, 2021. ISBN: 9780999431696
Young Adult Novels
Beasts Made of Night series
- Beasts Made of Night. Razorbill, 2017. ISBN: 9780448493909
- Crown of Thunder. Razorbill, 2018. ISBN: 9780448493930
War Girls series
Comics
- Black Panther Legends, Marvel Comics, 2021. ISBN: 9781302931414
- Legends Black Panther Legends #1, Marvel Comics, 2021.
- Black Panther Legends #2, Marvel Comics, 2021.
- Black Panther Legends #3, Marvel Comics, 2022.
- Black Panther Legends #4, Marvel Comics, 2022.
- Marvel's Voices: Legacy volume 1. various authors. Marvel, February 1, 2022. ISBN: 9781302928148
- Captain America: Symbol of Truth #1-14, 750, Marvel Comics, 2022.
Short Stories in Anthologies
- "Samson and the Delilah's", Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America (ed. Ibi Zoboi), HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780062698728
- "Habibi", A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology. Dhonielle Clayton, editor. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2020. ISBN: 9781984896209
Short Stories in Magazines
- "Dust to Dust", Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing, September 2011 and Lightspeed Magazine, June 2019.
- "Place of Worship", Asmiov's Science Fiction, September 2014.
- "The Fifth Day", Uncanny Magazine, i#30, September/October 2019.
- "How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary", Slate, August 2020.
Essays
- "Homecoming: How Afrofuturism Bridges the Past and the Present", Tor.com, February 27, 2018.
- "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream: The Duty of the Black Writer During Times of American Unrest", Tor.com, June 1, 2020.
