Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (born 19 January) is a Nigerian

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 ...

writer, editor and publisher who was the first African-born Black author to win a

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

.First African-born Black Nebula Award winner faces death threats & hostile embassy to attend WorldCon
by Sumiko Saulson,

San Francisco Bay View The ''San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper'' is an online and print newspaper, published in San Francisco, California. It covers events from an African-American perspective, with a focus on Black liberation and coverage of what it cl ...

, 13 October 2022."Historic Nebula winner Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki came for everything" by Onai Stanely Mushava,

This Is Africa ''This Is Africa'' is an English-language bi-monthly business publication owned by the ''Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on busines ...

, 2 June 2022. He has also received a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...

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 two Nommo Awards, along with being a multi-time finalist for a number of other honors, including the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

. Ekpeki frequently writes about

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

inequality Inequality may refer to: * Inequality (mathematics), a relation between two quantities when they are different. * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups ** Income inequality, an unequal distribution of i ...

and other issues related to both

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

and

decolonization Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

. He also coined the term ''afropantheology'', which is a distinct genre of speculative fiction "conceived to capture the gamut of African works which, though having fantasy elements, are additionally imbued with African spiritual realities."Between Dystopias: The Road to Afropantheology
" starred review, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', 7/27/2023.

Life

Ekpeki was born in

Ughelli Ughelli is a town in Delta State, Nigeria, and one of the 24 kingdoms that make up the Urhobo people, Urhobo Nation. It also serves as the headquarters of Ughelli North local government area of Delta State. The city is indigenous to the Urhobo ...

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

, Nigeria. He studied law at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

. In November 2024, ''Locus'' magazine reported that "allegations of unethical and unprofessional behavior by Ekpeki" had recently been made public and that the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, trade name, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional sci ...

had removed him from their board of directors. In December 2024, ''Locus'' followed up the report with updates from ''

File 770 ''File 770'' is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published and administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first w ...

'' and The African Speculative Fiction Society, that Ekpeki had been found innocent of the allegations, following further investigations and retractions.

Writing

Ekpeki began publishing fiction in 2018. One of his early stories, "The Witching Hour", won the Nommo Award. His 2020 novella '' Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon'' won the

and Nommo Award, along with being a finalist for the

BSFA Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

for Best Short Fiction,

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

, and

Nebula Award for Best Novella The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novellas. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novella if it is between 17,500 and 4 ...

. In 2021, Ekpeki's climate fiction novelette "O2 Arena" was published in ''Galaxy's Edge'' magazine and received the

Nebula Award for Best Novelette The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to a science fiction or fantasy novelette. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novelette if it is between 7,5 ...

, making him the first African-born Black author to be so honored. The novelette was also a finalist for the

Hugo Award for Best Novelette The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...

. ''

'' described the story as a "biopolitical dystopia in which oxygen has become a commodity, with all the possible class implications." His 2022 short story "Destiny Delayed", published in ''

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac ...

'' magazine, was a finalist for the 2022

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

. Ekpeki and Joshua Uchenna Omenga's book ''Between Dystopias: The Road to Afropantheology'' focuses on the "study of African (and African-descended) religions, gods, and the bodies of knowledge associated with them". The book contains thirteen stories and three essays "exploring the belief systems and lived experiences that inform African speculative fiction" and the "schism between Western and African perspectives on speculative fiction". Ekpeki's fiction and non-fiction have also appeared in '' Omenana Magazine'', ''Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores'', ''

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...

'', ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online magazine, online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and non-fiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in S ...

'', ''

Uncanny Magazine ''Uncanny Magazine'' is an American science fiction magazine, science fiction and Fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy online magazine founded by publishing editors Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. History First issued in 2014, the pu ...

'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and other places. He is a member of the African Speculative Fiction Society, the

, the

Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of horror and dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with ...

, and Codex Writers Group.

Editing

Ekpeki has edited a number of books and magazines, starting with the 2020 anthology '' Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora'' (co-edited with Zelda Knight). The anthology won the

for Best Anthology and was a finalist for the 2021

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...

and the 2020 This Is Horror award. Ekpeki also edited '' The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction'' and published it through his own Jembefola Press in 2021. In 2022, he edited and published ''Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations On Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature In a Pandemic''. The anthology was a finalist for the

for Non-Fiction.2023 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists
" Locus Magazine, 28 April 2023. In 2022 he co-edited the

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

anthology '' Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction'' alongside

Sheree Renée Thomas Biography Sheree Renée Thomas (born September 30, 1972) is an American writer, book editor, and publisher. In 2020, Thomas was named editor of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas' father joined th ...

and Knight. The anthology won the 2023

and was a finalist for the 2023

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Awards, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction. Walter Mosley holds the record for most wins in this category, with three. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s ...

. He has also edited individual issues of ''Invictus Quarterly'' and ''Interstellar Flight Press''. Ekpeki has been a multi-time finalist in the editing category for the

Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor The Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The award is available for editors of magazines ...

and

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Collections

* ''Between Dystopias: The Road to Afropantheology'', co-written with Joshua Uchenna Omenga (Arc Manor Books, 2023)

Short stories

* * * * * *

Novellas

Anthologies

* * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekpeki, Oghenechovwe Donald 21st-century Nigerian novelists Speculative fiction writers of African descent Living people Nebula Award winners Nigerian fantasy writers Nigerian male novelists Nigerian science fiction writers Nigerian speculative fiction writers Nommo Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)