Diriye Osman was born on in 1983 and is a British-Somali author, visual artist, critic and essayist.
15 Facts About Diriye Osman
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Diriye Osman's books include the award-winning collection of stories, Fairytales For Lost Children, and the collection of interlinked stories, The Butterfly Jungle, which Osman wrote and designed on his phone.
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Diriye Osman's parents encouraged his desire to become a designer.
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In 2002, at the age of 18, Diriye Osman was diagnosed with psychosis and institutionalised in a mental hospital in Woolwich, South London.
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Diriye Osman was so traumatized by the experience that he did not speak for nearly six months.
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Diriye Osman later attended Royal Holloway, University of London, where he earned an MA in Creative Writing.
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In 2008, after recovering from another period of poor health, Diriye Osman began to write short stories.
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Diriye Osman has commented that although he writes for a general audience, his main interest is in positively representing the universal Somali experience.
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Diriye Osman published "Earthling", a short story about a young lesbian recently released from a psychiatric unit.
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Diriye Osman personally designed the illustrations for the book over several weeks.
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Diriye Osman began creating visual art at the age of eight, spending hours alone conjuring up fairy-like fantasies infused with his experience as an immigrant.
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Diriye Osman's painted images of "goddess-like" women were thus for him "the acceptable, alluring face of what was a dangerous transgression".
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Diriye Osman utilizes Swarovski crystals for a more lavish effect.
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Diriye Osman is the first writer from Africa to receive the award.
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Diriye Osman was named one of the most influential LGBTI people in Britain by The Independent on Sunday.