Tade Thompson is a British-born Nigerian psychiatrist best known for his science fiction novels.

Life and career

Thompson was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to Yoruba parents. His family left 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...

in 1976, when Thompson was seven. He grew up in Nigeria, where he studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

and

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

. He went on to specialise in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial p ...

. He returned to the UK in 1998, where he has remained except for a year spent working in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. He now lives on the south coast of England. His novels and short stories have been critically well received. Thompson is a

Nommo Award The Nommo Award is a literary award presented by ''The African Speculative Fiction Society''. The award is named after the Nommo. The awards recognize works of speculative fiction by Africans, defined as "science fiction, fantasy, stories of magi ...

and a

Kitschies The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for "the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" published in the United Kingdom. Awards and criteria The Kit ...

Golden Tentacle Award winner. He is a John W. Campbell Award finalist as well as nominated for the

Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...

Award, the

British Science Fiction 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 ...

, and the Nommo Award. Thompson is also an illustrator and artist. His novella ''

The Murders of Molly Southbourne ''The Murders of Molly Southbourne'' is a 2017 horror novella by Nigerian-British writer Tade Thompson. The plot covers the life of Molly Southbourne, who is afflicted by a mysterious condition. Every time she bleeds, a doppelgänger will grow f ...

'' has been optioned for screen adaptation. His novel ''

Rosewater Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to flavour ...

,'' the first book in the ''Wormwood trilogy'' set in Nigeria won the Arthur C. Clarke award in 2019.

Bibliography

Novels

The Wormwood Trilogy

* (revised version 2018) ** * *

Stand-alone

* *

Novellas and short fiction

The Molly Southbourne Trilogy

*''

'' (2017) *'' The Survival of Molly Southbourne'' (2019) *''The Legacy of Molly Southbourne'' (2022)

Stand-alone

*"The McMahon Institute for Unquiet Minds" (2005) *"Slip Road" (2009) *"Shadow" (2010) *"Notes from Gethsemane" (2012) *"Bicycle Girl" (2013) *"One Hundred and Twenty Days of Sunlight" (2013) *"Slip Road" (revised) (2014) *"Budo or, The Flying Orchid" (2014) *"The Monkey House" (2015) *"Child, Funeral, Thief, Death" (2015) *"The Last Pantheon" (2015) (with Nick Wood) *"Decommissioned" (2016) *"Household Gods" (2016) *"The Apologists" (2016) *"Gnaw" (2016) *"Bootblack" (2017) *"Yard Dog" (2018) *"Jackdaw" (2022)

Poems

*"Komolafe" (2013)

Essays

* ''The Last Word on the Last Pantheon'' (2016) (with Nick Wood) * ''Please Stop Talking about the 'Rise' of African Science Fiction'' (2018)

Other work

* '' Omenana Magazine'' #4 (September 2015) (cover art) * ''In Morningstar's Shadow: Dominion of the Fallen Stories'' by

Aliette de Bodard Aliette de Bodard is a French-American speculative fiction writer. Writing de Bodard published her first short story in 2006. In 2007, she was a winner of Writers of the Future, and in 2009 was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Be ...

(2015) (cover art)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Tade Living people Nigerian artists English science fiction writers English psychologists 21st-century Nigerian novelists Nigerian science fiction writers Nigerian male novelists Yoruba novelists English people of Yoruba descent Year of birth missing (living people) English male novelists Yoruba diaspora Nigerian psychiatrists Yoruba physicians Black speculative fiction authors Black British writers Nommo Award winners