Imachibundu Oluwadara Onuzo (born 1991) is a Nigerian novelist. Her first novel, ''The Spider King's Daughter'', won a

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

, was shortlisted for the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published ...

and the

Commonwealth Book Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Bes ...

, and was longlisted for the

Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner recei ...

and the

Etisalat Prize for Literature The 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature 2013–16) was created by Etisalat Nigeria in 2013, and is the first ever pan-African prize celebrating first-time African writers of published fiction books.

Biography

Chibundu Onuzo was born in 1991 in Nigeria, the youngest of four children of parents who are doctors, and grew up in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

. She moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

when she was 14 to study at an all-girls' school in Winchester,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, for her

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

s, and at the age of 17 began writing her first novel, which was signed two years later by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

and was published when she was 21. She was the youngest female writer ever taken on by the publisher. Reviewing her second book, ''Welcome to Lagos'' (2016),

Helon Habila Helon Habila Ngalabak (born November 1967) is a Nigerian novelist and poet, whose writing has won many prizes, including the Caine Prize in 2001. He worked as a lecturer and journalist in Nigeria before moving in 2002 to England, where he was a C ...

wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'': "Onuzo's portrayal of human character is often too optimistic, her view of politics and society too charitable; but her ability to bring her characters to life, including the city of Lagos, perhaps the best-painted character of all, is impressive." Onuzo received a first-class bachelor's degree in history from King's College London (2012), and went on to earn a master's degree in public policy from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. She studied for a PhD at King's College London, researching the

West African Students' Union The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s,"History o ...

. She has written for outlets including ''The Guardian'' and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and is a contributor to the 2019 anthology ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'', edited by Margaret Busby. Onuzo's third novel ''

Sankofa (pronounced ''SAHN''-koh-fah) is a word in the Twi language of Ghana meaning “to retrieve" (literally "go back and get"; - to return; - to go; - to fetch, to seek and take) and also refers to the Bono Adinkra symbol represented either wi ...

'' was published in the UK by

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' (genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-āg ...

in June 2021, and was reviewed by ''The Guardian'' as " accomplished novel that explores difference and belonging with a cool intensity". ''

Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctoral ...

'' described it as "a love story, a political history, and a father-daughter drama". ''Sankofa'' was published by Catapult in the US and by Narrative Landscape in Nigeria.

Bibliography

*'' The Spider King's Daughter'' (

, 2012) *''

Welcome to Lagos ''Welcome to Lagos'' (Yoruba: ''Agba Meta'' or ''Aro Meta'') is an Art Deco statue of three Lagos white-cap chiefs located in Lagos, Nigeria. Designed by Bodun Shodeinde in 1991 and standing over 12 ft high, the three sculpted chiefs wer ...

'' (Catapult, 2016) *''

'' (Virago, 2021)

Awards and recognition

''The Spider King's Daughter'' won a

(2013), and in 2012 was shortlisted for the

and the

. In addition the novel was longlisted for the

and for the

in 2013. In April 2014 Onuzo was selected for the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, ...

Africa39 Africa39 was a collaborative project initiated by the Hay Festival in partnership with Rainbow Book Club, celebrating Port Harcourt: UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 by identifying 39 of the most promising writers under the age of 40 with the potent ...

list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. In June 2018 Onuzo was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

in its "40 Under 40" initiative. At the 2020

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival) is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film—works by Black members of the film industry. It is held to recognize achievements of fil ...

, the HBO Short Film Competition was won by '' Dọlápọ̀ Is Fine'', for which Onuzo co-wrote the screenplay and which was based on her short story "Sunita". The film, which was directed by Joan Iyiola, has also been longlisted for the Bafta British short film award.

References

External links

* Anita Sethi
"InterviewChibundu Onuzo: 'I love Lagos, but it is not a place you can romanticise
''The Guardian'', 1 January 2017. * Ben East
"How a dream gave Chibundu Onuzo an idea to write her new novel Welcome to Lagos"
'' The National'', 9 January 2017.
"Ourselves@Work: Home Is Where The Hustle Is"
NPR, 6 July 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Onuzo, Chibundu 1991 births 21st-century Nigerian novelists 21st-century Nigerian women writers Alumni of King's College London Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Living people Nigerian women novelists Residents of Lagos