Tope Folarin (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American writer and executive director of the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

. He won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story "Miracle". In April 2014 he was named in the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

's Africa39 project as one of the 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with the potential and the talent to define the trends of the region. His story "Genesis" was shortlisted for the 2016 Caine Prize.

Early life

He was born as Oluwabusayo Temitope Folarin in

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

, to Nigerian immigrants, and has four younger siblings — three brothers and a sister, all born in the United States."Tope Folarin"
How Rhodes Scholars Think, 2007. He grew up in

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant, and Ellis County, Texas, Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson County, Texas , Johnson county. It ...

, where he moved with his family at the age of 14.Krissah Thompson
"Tope Folarin finds his place in the literary world"
''

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 ...

'', 24 July 2013. Speaking of his upbringing in a 2016 interview, Folarin said that he and his siblings were raised with "a deep respect" for Nigeria and Africa. The children were eager to visit Nigeria, but financial constraints prevented the family from doing so. "I think my writing reflects both of these aspects of my life—a sense of closeness to Nigeria, and a distance as well," he said. After high school he enrolled at

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

. He studied for a year and a half as an exchange student, first at

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, then at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, before returning to the US and graduating from Morehouse in 2004, with a B.A. He was named a 2004

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, and during the summer of 2004 was a Galbraith Scholar 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 ...

's Kennedy School of Government. After that, he went to England to study at the

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 a member of

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College (HMC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of the un ...

, graduating in 2006 with an M.Sc. in African Studies and an M.Sc. in Comparative Social Policy.

Career

In 2013 Folarin became the first writer based outside Africa to win the

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...

, which he won for his short story "Miracle." The story is set in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in an evangelical Nigerian church. The award of the prize — which is open to anyone who was born in Africa, is an African national, or whose parents are African — generated some discussion about whether the author's connection to Africa was strong enough. Tope said in an interview to ''

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 ...

'':

"I'm a writer situated in the Nigerian disapora, and the Caine Prize means a lot – it feels like I'm connected to a long tradition of African writers. The Caine Prize is broadening its definition and scope. I consider myself Nigerian and American, both identities are integral to who I am. To win … feels like a seal of approval."

In April 2014 he was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with the potential and talent to define trends in African literature. He has served on the board of the

Hurston/Wright Foundation The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation is an American literary nonprofit organization that supports the development and careers of black writers. The Foundation provides classes, workshops, an annual conference, and offers the Hurston/Wr ...

in the United States.Liz Bury
"Caine prize won by Tope Folarin's 'utterly compelling' short story"
''

'', 9 July 2013. His first novel, ''A Particular Kind of Black Man'', was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2019. In it Folarin writes about a Nigerian family, new to America, as they try to assimilate. In 2021, Folarin won the Whiting Award for Fiction. In 2021, he was named as Executive Director of the

, a progressive think tank based in Washington, D.C., where he previously served as Board Chair.

Personal life

Folarin lives in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Publications

Novel

* '' A Particular Kind of Black Man'', Simon & Schuster, 2019

Short stories

*"Miracle," ''Transition'', No. 109, Persona (2012), pp. 73–83 * "The Summer of Ice Cream", ''Virginia Quarterly Review'', Fall 2014, Vol. 90, No. 4, pp. 54+Tope Folarin
""The Summer of Ice Cream"
''VQR'', Fall 2014. * "New Mom, from a novel in progress," ''Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara'', Bloomsbury Publishing, October 2014. *

References

External links

*
Webcast at the Library of Congress, 20 March 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folarin, Tope 1982 births Writers from Ogden, Utah Living people Nigerian writers Morehouse College alumni Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford American people of Nigerian descent American Rhodes Scholars Caine Prize winners 21st-century male writers