Akwaeke Emezi
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Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian fiction writer and visual artist, best known for their novels ''
Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
'' (2018), ''
Pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...
'', and the ''New York Times'' bestselling work ''
The Death of Vivek Oji ''The Death of Vivek Oji'' is a novel by Nigerian writer Akwaeke Emezi. It was published on 4 August 2020 by Riverhead Books. The novel recounts the life and death of protagonist Vivek Oji. It is Emezi's second adult novel after ''Freshwater''. ...
''. Emezi is a generalist who writes
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
, romance, memoir, and poetry for both young adults and adults with mostly LGBT themes. Their work has earned them several awards and nominations including the
Otherwise Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...
and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. In 2021, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' featured them as a Next Generation Leader.


Early life and education

Akwaeke Emezi was born in
Umuahia Umuahia () is the capital city of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to its south, and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Ni ...
, the capital city of
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
, southeastern Nigeria in 1987 to an Igbo Nigerian father, and a mother who was the daughter of
Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...
immigrants living in Malaysia. Emezi grew up in Aba. Emezi started reading fantasy books and with their sister Yagazie used storytelling to escape the riots, dictatorship, and dangerous reality of their childhoods. Emezi was a "voracious" reader during childhood and they began writing short stories when they were five years old. Emezi relocated to the
Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
n region of the United States when they were 16 years old to attend college. After college, they enrolled in a veterinary school and dropped out before receiving their MPA in international public policy and nonprofit management from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. Emezi briefly started a short-lived anonymous sex blog and a natural-hair blog which gave them little recognition. In 2014, they entered the MFA creative fiction writing program at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
where they started the draft of their
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
''Freshwater'' after which they attended
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born Grace Ngozi Adichie; 15 September 1977) is a Nigerians, Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, poem, and children's books; she is also a book reviewer and literary critic. Her most famous works include ''Purple ...
's Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop in
Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...
, southwestern Nigeria.


Career

Emezi's debut novel ''
Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
'' tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, Ada, who is an ogbanje (an Igbo evil spirit). Emezi explores their Igbo heritage's spirituality and gender alongside those of Western construction and invites their audience to think critically about this spirit/body binary. ''Freshwater'' received significant critical acclaim and was longlisted for numerous prestigious awards. Emezi was also recognized as a 2018
National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...
"5 Under 35" honoree. In 2019, ''Freshwater'' was nominated for the
Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
—the first time a
non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...
transgender author has been nominated for the prize. Women's prize judge Professor Kate Williams said that the panel did not know Emezi was non-binary when the book was chosen, but she said Emezi was happy to be nominated. Non-binary commentator Vic Parsons wrote that the nomination raised uncomfortable questions, asking: "would a non-binary author who was assigned male at birth have been longlisted? I highly doubt it." After the nomination, it was announced that the Women's Prize Trust was working on new guidelines for
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
, non-binary, and
genderfluid Gender fluidity (commonly referred to as genderfluid) is a non-fixed gender identity that shifts over time or depending on the situation. These fluctuations can occur at the level of gender identity or gender expression. A genderfluid person m ...
authors. The Women's Prize later asked for Emezi's "sex as defined by law" when submitting ''The Death of Vivek Oji'' for inclusion, and Emezi chose to withdraw, calling the requirement
transphobic Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social ...
and specifically exclusionary to trans women. Emezi's second novel and first
young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
novel ''
Pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...
'', released on 10 September 2019, is about a transgender teenager named Jam living in a world where adults refuse to acknowledge the existence of monsters. '' Bitter'', the prequel to ''Pet'', was released in February 2022. Emezi signed a two-book deal with
Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carl ...
. The first, ''
The Death of Vivek Oji ''The Death of Vivek Oji'' is a novel by Nigerian writer Akwaeke Emezi. It was published on 4 August 2020 by Riverhead Books. The novel recounts the life and death of protagonist Vivek Oji. It is Emezi's second adult novel after ''Freshwater''. ...
'', came out on 4 August 2020 and was a ''New York Times'' best seller. The second is a memoir entitled '' Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir''. Emezi's debut poetry collection ''Content Warning: Everything'' was published in April 2022. In April 2021, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' announced that
Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...
won the right to adapt their debut romance novel '' You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty'' into a feature film. It was purchased in a high six-figure deal which ''Deadline'' called the biggest book deal of the year so far.
Michael B. Jordan Michael Bakari Jordan ( ; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor, producer and director. He is best known for his film roles in '' Fruitvale Station'' (2013), ''Creed'' (2015), ''Black Panther'' (2018), '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' ...
’s Outlier Society will develop it alongside Elizabeth Raposo. Emezi will serve as the executive producer.


Other works

Emezi has written and directed short films, including ''Hey Celestial'' and ''Ududeagu''. ''Ududeagu'' won the Experimental Short Audience Award at the 2014 edition of the BlackStar Film Festival. In 2019, it was announced that Emezi will write and executive produce the TV series adaptation of their novel ''Freshwater'' for FX alongside Tamara P. Carter, to be produced by
FX Productions FX Productions, LLC (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks, a division of the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company. It was also known in copyright as Bluebush Productions from 2007 ...
with Kevin Wandell and Lindsey Donahue. In 2023, Emezi ventured into rap music, releasing their first single "Banye". In March 2024, Emezi released their debut EP ''Stop Dying, You Were Very Expensive.''


Personal life

Emezi identifies as
non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
. They use they/them or she/her pronouns. They experience multiplicity and consider themself an ogbanje. They experienced their first alter split when they were 16, a week after moving to the United States. They have written about their experience of undergoing gender confirmation surgery, including
hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and cervix. Supracervical hysterectomy refers to removal of the uterus while the cervix is spared. These procedures may also involve removal of the ovaries (oophorectomy), fallopian tubes ( salpi ...
.


Awards and nominations


Bibliography


Novels

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Young adult novels

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Nonfiction

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Poetry

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References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emezi, Akwaeke Living people Non-binary novelists Nigerian fantasy writers 21st-century Nigerian novelists 21st-century Nigerian artists Non-binary artists Nigerian LGBTQ novelists Igbo novelists 1987 births People from Umuahia Nommo Award winners 21st-century Nigerian LGBTQ people Nigerian memoirists Nigerian non-binary people Tamil writers Tamil artists Tamil diaspora in Africa Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Malaysian people of Tamil descent New York University alumni Syracuse University alumni Stonewall Book Award winners