Sarah Ladipo Manyika
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Sarah Ladipo Manyika
FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...
is a British-Nigerian writer of novels, short stories and essays and an active member of the literary community, particularly supporting and amplifying young writers and female voices. She is the author of two well-received novels, '' In Dependence'' (2009) and ''Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun'' (2016), as well as the non-fiction collection ''Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora'' (2022), and her writing has appeared in publications including ''
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...
'', '' Transition'', '' Guernica'', and '' OZY'', and previously served as founding Books Editor of ''OZY''. Manyika's work also features in the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', edited by Margaret Busby.


Early life

Sarah Manyika was born and raised in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. She has also lived in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, France, Zimbabwe, the United States, and Britain. Her father is Nigerian and her mother is British.


Career

Manyika studied at the Universities of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
(UK),
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
(France), and California (Berkeley), receiving a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
from the latter."About Sarah Ladipo Manyika"
Sarah Ladipo Manyika website.
Her writing includes published essays, academic papers, book reviews and short stories.


Fiction

Manyika's short story "Mr Wonder" appeared in the 2008 collection ''Women Writing Zimbabwe''. Her first novel, ''In Dependence'', was originally published by Legend Press, London, in 2008, and was chosen by the UK's largest bookstore chain as its featured book for
Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
. In 2009, ''In Dependence'', was published by Cassava Republic, a literary press based in
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
, Nigeria (as well as, latterly, in the UK), with a stable of authors that includes Teju Cole and Helon Habila. Speaking of her decision to sign with an African publisher, Manyika has said: "I realized that by granting world rights to an African publisher I could, in a small way, attempt to address the imbalance of power in a world where the gatekeepers of literature, even for so-called African stories, remain firmly rooted in the west." Toni Kan writes in '' The Lagos Review'': "Sarah Manyika has written an impressive debut novel which will find a well-deserved place in the pantheon of post-colonial literature." In 2014, ''In Dependence'' was published by Weaver Press in Zimbabwe, where it is a set book for the Advanced-level English Literature examination. ''In Dependence'' has also been introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Nigeria for candidates sitting for the 2017 UTME. She was a finalist for a 2021 Audie Award for her narration of the novel. Manyika's second novel, ''Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun'', on its publication in spring 2016 was endorsed by many other writers, including
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...
("Manyika's story about an elderly Nigerian woman is quiet, sophisticated and it expands the canon of contemporary African literature into welcome new territory"), Aminatta Forna ("gorgeous and finely crafted...Sarah Manyika's novel shows ordinary people at their best. Uplifting!"), NoViolet Bulawayo ("Astute, sensual, funny, and moving"), Jamal Mahjoub ("Manyika writes with great verve and gentle wit, illuminating her characters with subtle insight"), Peter Orner ("A beautiful, important new novel, and one that will continue to echo in a reader's mind for a long time after"), E. C. Osondu ("unforgettable...a powerful meditation on loss, memory, exile and loneliness. The characters in this novel will stay with you"), and Brian Chikwava ("A wonderfully constructed novel, always surprising"). It has been translated into several languages. ''Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun'' was shortlisted in September 2016 for the
Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...
(alongside books by Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Eimear McBride, Mike McCormack and Anakana Schofield), "the first African novel to be considered for this prize", which was set up to reward fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. The novel was also shortlisted for the California Book Award in the fiction category (alongside works by such writers as Andrew Sean Greer, Percival Everett, and Viet Thanh Nguyen). Of the genesis for ''Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun'' Manyika has said: "I've met many older women who have lived colourful lives, and yet when it comes to fiction I don't find many stories that mirror this, especially so when it comes to the lives of black women. When I cannot find stories that I'd like to read, I try writing them for myself." The novel's title is an acknowledged line from a poem by Mary Ruefle called "Donkey On". Manyika is a contributor (with her short story "The Ambassador's Wife") to the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', edited by Margaret Busby, participating in associated events.


Non-fiction

Manyika's non-fiction writing includes personal essays, book reviews, and in-depth profiles. For example, her essay "Coming of Age in the Time of the Hoodie" tells of her worries about raising her son in modern America. She has written book reviews for ''
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 ...
'', among them on '' Glory'' by NoViolet Bulawayo, and the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'', such as on ''Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick'' by
Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...
. Her profile subjects include a piece on
Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...
for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
.


''Between Starshine and Clay''

Interviews with some of those from whom Manyika has drawn inspiration are the focus of her 2022 book ''Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora'' (Footnote Press), described as "a celebration of personal and collective stories, of histories, of people making a way where there seems to be no way, making a difference, making history." Its title, as Manyika explains, is borrowed from Lucille Clifton's poem "won't you celebrate me", which "speaks of survival through adversity and combines a blunt acknowledgement of how hard it is to survive, to forge one's own path, and yet to pull through and have something to celebrate." With a Foreword by
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...
, the book features activists, artists and intellectuals including
Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...
,
Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...
, Michelle Obama,
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democ ...
, Claudia Rankine,
Henry Louis Gates Jr Henry Louis Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950), popularly known by his childhood nickname "Skip", is an American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of t ...
, Xoliswa Sithole, Anna Deavere Smith, Margaret Busby, Lord Michael Hastings and Evan Mawarire. Manyika has said that her search in "these turbulent times" for "answers, perspective, and hope" led her to write ''Between Starshine and Clay''. A '' Brittle Paper'' review stated: "All through the book, there is a powerful sense of history as these figures look back, take stock, reminisce about their lives and how they came to make the impact that they did. In the process of sharing their stories, they shed light on our moment." Olatoun Gabi-Williams writes of Manyika's book: "Her portraits of the chosen 12 are multi-media collages – richly hued stills in motion picture narratives. The guests tell their stories moving back and forth in time. Their stories are vivid: of dreams chased after; of full lives led – of purpose; of their struggles; disappointments and victories. ... In their own distinctive ways, each of them is leaving the world a far more hopeful place." Among those who have praised ''Between Starshine and Clay'' are David Olusoga ("Each encounter framed and presented with enormous literary skill and grace. ...a snap-shot of where the peoples of the Black diaspora stand, today in the early 21st Century, and how much has been overcome to get here"), Delroy Lindo ("This is a one-of-a-kind book, a necessary and important one"), Ato Quayson ("A lesson in magic from Manyika's writing"), NoViolet Bulawayo ("Sarah Ladipo Manyika brings an intimate, eclectic, and delightfully startling freshness in this remarkably curated celebration of the African Diaspora") and Dame Vivian Hunt ("an amazing collection that will inspire readers young and old"). ''Between Starshine and Clay'' was selected by ''Brittle Paper'' literary magazine as one of the "100 Notable African Books of 2022".


Literary community

Manyika works with a number of organizations that support and amplify young writers and female voices. She is President of the Hedgebrook Board of Directors and on the Advisory Council of 826 Valencia. She previously served on the Board of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco and partnered with MoAD to host an interview series, Conversations across the Dispora, featuring conversations with authors, artists, philanthropists, and scholars. She additionally hosted '' OZY''s video series, Write, and was the magazine's Books Editor.Sarah Ládípọ̀ Manyika
biography at ''OZY''.
She has also served as a judge for literary competitions, the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2014, the Goldsmiths Prize in 2020, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize in 2021.


Personal life

She and her husband James Manyika married in
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
, Zimbabwe, in 1994.


Honours and recognition

In December 2022, Manyika was listed by '' New African'' magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of the year, as was her husband James Manyika. In 2023, she 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 ...
.


Works


Novels

* '' In Dependence'' ( Legend Press, 2008; Cassava Republic Press, 2009) * ''Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun'' (Cassava Republic Press, 2016, ).


Non-fiction

* ''Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora'', Foreword by
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...
(Footnote Press, 2022)


Short stories

* "Mr Wonder" in ''Women Writing Zimbabwe'' ( Weaver Press, 2008) * "Modupe" in ''African Love Stories'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, 2006) * "Girlfriend" in ''Fathers & Daughters'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, 2008) * "The Ambassador's Wife" in Margaret Busby (editor), '' New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent'' (
Myriad Editions Myriad Editions is an independent UK publishing house based in Brighton and Hove, Sussex, specialising in topical atlases, graphic non-fiction and original fiction, whose output also encompasses graphic novels that span a variety of genres, in ...
, 2019)


Book chapters

* "Oyinbo" in ''Prolematizing Blackness'' (Routledge, 2003)


Selected essays

* "Coming of Age in the Time of the Hoodie", '' Guernica'', 23 June 2015. * "Betting on Africa", '' Brittle Paper'', 28 March 2016. * "For the Love of Older Characters in Good Books", '' OZY'', 29 October 2017. * "Game of Tomes: The Struggle for Literary Prizes", ''OZY'', 2 November 2017. * "On Meeting Toni Morrison", '' Transition'', No. 124, Writing Black Canadas (2017), pp. 138–147.
Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
/ Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. * "What James Baldwin Means To Me", ''Brittle Paper'', 4 March 2019. * "On Meeting Mrs Obama", ''
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...
146: The Politics of Feeling'', 22 March 2019. * "On Meeting Margaret Busby", ''Granta'', 19 October 2020.


Research reports


''Ph.D. Programs in African Universities: Current Status and Future Prospects. Report to the Rockefeller Foundation''
Co-authored with David Szanton (University of Berkeley, California, 2002).


See also

*
Nigerian literature Nigerian literature is a literary writing in Nigeria often by her citizens. It encompasses writers in a number of languages spoken in Nigeria including Igbo, Urhobo, Yoruba, Hausa and Nupe. ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958) by Chinua Achebe is ...


References


External links


Official websiteListen aloud to readings from ''In Dependence''Introduction to Black History Month
*Sarah Ladipo Manyika interviewed by Nkrumah Bankong-Obi
"My Life, My Writings"
''P.M. News Nigeria'', 26 March 2014. *Ovo Adagha

''African Writing'', No. 9.
Sarah Ládípọ̀ Manyika
on ''OZY''
"Toni Morrison In Conversation"
Mario Kaiser & Sarah Ladipo Manyika in conversation with Toni Morrison. ''Granta'', 29 June 2017.
"Twenty Questions with Sarah Ladipo Manyika"
'' TLS'', 2019. *Darlington Chibueze Anuonye
"Taking Her Cue from Baldwin: A Conversation with Sarah Ladipo Manyika"
(interview), ''
World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...
'', 9 January 2023.
If there's a book you want to read and cannot find, write it!' Sarah Ladipo Manyika's First Draft"
(interview), ''The Republic'', Nigeria, 16 March 2024. {{DEFAULTSORT:Manyika, Sarah Ladipo 1968 births 21st-century British writers 21st-century Nigerian women writers 21st-century Nigerian novelists 21st-century novelists Alumni of the University of Birmingham Black British women academics British women academics Black British academics Black British women writers Black British writers British essayists British expatriate academics in the United States British expatriates in France British expatriates in Kenya British women essayists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Living people Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian essayists Nigerian people of British descent Nigerian women academics Nigerian women essayists San Francisco State University faculty University of Bordeaux alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Writers from Ibadan