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 at least , with normally one author receiving a larger prize amount ( ...

, 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 w ...

and the Commonwealth Book Prize, 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 receiv ...

and the Etisalat Prize for Literature.

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 ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. She moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

when she was 14 to study at St Swithun’s school in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, for her

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

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, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply 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, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

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 wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'': "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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(2012), and went on to earn a master's degree in public policy from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. 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) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and contributed the short story "Sunita" to the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

. 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 people, Bono Adinkra symbols, Adinkra ...

'' was published in the UK by Virago 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 doctora ...

'' 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'' (Catapult, 2016) *''

'' ( Virago, 2021) *''Mayowa and the Sea of Words'' (

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, 2024)

Awards and recognition

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

(2013), and in 2012 was shortlisted for the

and the Commonwealth Book Prize. In addition the novel was longlisted for the

and for the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2013. In April 2014 Onuzo was selected for the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), 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, the festival was d ...

's Africa39 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 800 Fellows, elect ...

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

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival, is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film and works by black members of the film industry. The festival is held annually in ...

, 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 Writers from Lagos