Sefi Atta (born 19 January 1964) is a Nigerian-American novelist, short-story writer,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. Her books have been translated into many languages, her radio plays have been broadcast by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and her stage plays have been performed internationally. Awards she has received include the 2006 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa and the 2009 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa.

Biography

Atta was born 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 ...

, Nigeria, in January 1964, to a family of five children. Her father Abdul-Aziz Atta was the Secretary to

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and Head of the Civil Service until his death in 1972, and she was raised by her mother Iyabo Atta. She attended

Queen's College, Lagos Queen's College, Lagos, is a government-owned girls' secondary (high) school with boarding facilities, situated in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Often referred to as the "sister college" of King's College, Lagos, it was founded on October 10, 1927, when ...

, and

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

in England. In 1985, she graduated with a B.A. degree from

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. She qualified as a chartered accountant in England and as CPA in the United States, where she migrated in 1994."Atta, Sefi 1964–"
Encyclopedia.com. She earned an MFA in creative writing from

Antioch University Los Angeles Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) is a campus of Antioch University in Culver City, California. Background Antioch College was founded in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, Antioch College's first president's goal was to create an educatio ...

in 2001. She is married to Gboyega Ransome-Kuti, a medical doctor, and son of Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, and they have one child, named Temi.

Career

Atta graduated from the creative writing program at

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...

in Los Angeles. Her short stories have appeared in literary journals such as '' The Los Angeles Review'', '' Mississippi Review'' and ''

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 ...

''. She has also written essays, and her articles on Lagos and Nigeria have appeared in publications such as ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

''. Her books have been translated into several languages. Her first novel, '' Everything Good Will Come'', won the inaugural Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2006. She is a contributor 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 ...

. Atta's Lagos-based production company Atta Girl supports Care to Read, a programme she initiated to earn funds for legitimate charities through staged readings.

Bibliography

Novels * 2005: '' Everything Good Will Come'', US: Interlink Books, . UK:

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 ...

, * 2010: ''Swallow'', Interlink Books, * 2013: ''A Bit of Difference'', Interlink Books, * 2019: ''The Bead Collector'', US: Interlink Books, . UK: Myriad Editions, * 2022: ''The Bad Immigrant'', Interlink Books, Short-story collections * 2010: ''News from Home'', Interlink Books, * 2025: ''Indigene'', Interlink Books, Children's book * 2018: ''Drama Queen'', AAA Press, Nigeria, Young Adult novel * 2024: ''Good-for-Nothing Girl'', Interlink Books, Play collections * 2019: ''Sefi Atta; Selected Plays'', Interlink Books, Stage play premieres * 2005: ''The Engagement'', MUSON Centre, Lagos * 2011: ''The Cost of Living'', Lagos Heritage Festival * 2011: ''Hagel auf Zamfara'', Theatre Krefeld, Germany * 2012: ''The Naming Ceremony'', New World Nigeria,

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

, London * 2012: ''An Ordinary Legacy'', The MUSON Festival, MUSON Centre, Lagos * 2014: ''Last Stand'', Terra Kulture, Lagos * 2018: ''Renovation'', The Jos Festival of Theatre * 2019: ''The Death Road'', The Jos Festival of Theatre Radio plays * 2002: ''The Engagement'', BBC Radio * 2004: ''Makinwa's Miracle'', BBC Radio * 2007: ''A Free Day'',

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

Screenplays * 2021: ''Swallow'', a

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 ...

original movie based on Sefi Atta's second novel, ''Swallow'', co-written by Atta and

Kunle Afolayan Kunle Afolayan (born 30 September 1975) is a Nigerians, Nigerian actor, producer, and director. He is credited for elevating the quality of Nollywood movies through larger budgets, shooting on 35mm, releasing in Movie theater, cinemas, and impro ...

, premiered on October 1.

Awards and recognition

* 2002: Macmillan Writers Prize For Africa, shortlist * 2002: BBC African Performance, 2nd Prize * 2002: Zoetrope Short Fiction Contest, 3rd Prize * 2003: Red Hen Press Short Story Award, 1st prize * 2003: '' Glimmer Train''′s Very Short Fiction Award, finalist * 2004:

African Performance, 2nd Prize * 2005:

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

David TK Wong Prize, 1st Prize * 2006: Caine Prize for African Writing, shortlist * 2006: Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa * 2009: Noma Award for Publishing in Africa * 2009: The American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, quarter-finalist * 2019: WeScreenPlay Diverse Voices Lab, finalist * 2019: The American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, finalist * 2021: The National Playwrights Conference, semifinalist Visiting Writer * 2024:

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

* 2006:

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

* 2008:

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

* 2010: École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Atta was on the jury for the 2010

Neustadt International Prize for Literature The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''. It is considered one of the more prestigious int ...

,Jury & candidates for 2010 Neustadt Prize
announced March 2009. . and a judge for the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing. A critical study of her works, ''Writing Contemporary Nigeria: How Sefi Atta Illuminates African Culture and Tradition'', edited by Professor Walter P. Collins, III, was published by Cambria Press in 2015.

References

External links

Sefi Atta's website
* Ike Anya
"Sefi Atta: Something Good Comes to Nigerian literature"
''African Writer Magazine''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Atta, Sefi Nigerian women novelists Nigerian dramatists and playwrights Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States People educated at Millfield 1964 births Living people Writers from Lagos Alumni of the University of Birmingham Antioch University alumni University of Southern Mississippi people Northwestern University faculty Queen's College, Lagos alumni 21st-century Nigerian novelists English-language writers from Nigeria Ransome-Kuti family Nigerian women academics 21st-century Nigerian women writers Nigerian screenwriters