Femi Fadugba (born 1987) is a British writer and physicist based in London. His first book, ''The Upper World'', was published by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

in 2021. It was turned into a film by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, starring

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is an English actor. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Kaluuya, his accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two British Academy ...

Early life and education

Fadugba was born to Nigerian parents in

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

during a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. His father was an interpreter for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Fadugba spent his early childhood moving around, including a stint in the United States, before settling in

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 ...

at age nine, where he attended a boarding school in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. As his parents frequently traveled for work, he would stay with his aunt in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

when not at school. Fadugba was encouraged by his school caretaker to pursue a career in physics. In an interview with ''

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 ...

'', Fadugba explained that at the age of 11 his caretaker gave him ''Quantum Physics for Dummies''. Faduga completed a master's degree in materials science at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he was awarded the

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize The Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize is sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers and awarded biennially by the Royal Society "for excellence in materials science and technology" and is accompanied by a £200 ...

. His third year project specialised in

quantum computing A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of wave-particle duality, both particles and waves, and quantum computing takes advantage of this behavior using s ...

. He moved to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

for graduate studies, where he worked toward a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

as a Thouron Scholar.

Career

Fadugba returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he worked in a solar finance company. In 2011 he was selected by the Rare Rising Stars competition as the "UK’s Best Black Student". Fadugba's book, ''The Upper World'', combines the everyday life of young people living in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, with time travel and quantum physics. He was motivated to write it after his friends became increasingly curious about the mysteries and miracles of physics. Fadugba has described physics as a combination of maths and metaphors. ''The Guardian'' described ''The Upper World'' as a "uniquely thrilling, heart-wrenching young adult novel". After a 15-way auction, the book was published by

in August 2021. Almost immediately after Fadugba sent the manuscript to the publishers, it was leaked to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Faduba was approached by

Monkeypaw Productions Monkeypaw Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Jordan Peele in 2012. It is known for producing horror films, such as ''Get Out'', '' Us'', '' Candyman'', '' Nope'', and '' Wendell & Wild'', as well as oth ...

and

Plan B Entertainment Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for ...

for the film rights. The rights were won by Netflix, and the film will be produced by and star

Personal life

Fadugba is married to an American doctor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fadugba, Femi 1987 births Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Black British writers British materials scientists British people of Nigerian descent British science fiction writers Living people People from Peckham Togolese emigrants to the United Kingdom Togolese people of Nigerian descent University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from the London Borough of Southwark