28 Facts About Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor is best known for her Binti Series and her novels Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Lagoon and Remote Control.

Nnedi Okorafor's writing is Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism, which is heavily influenced by her dual Nigerian and American heritage.

Nnedi Okorafor is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Eisner Award and World Fantasy Award.

Nnedi Okorafor is considered to be among the third generation of Nigerian writers.

Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1974 to Igbo Nigerian parents who travelled to America in 1969 to attend school but purportedly could not return to Nigeria due to the Nigerian Civil War.

Nnedi Okorafor was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 13, a condition that worsened as she grew older.

At age 19, she underwent spinal fusion surgery to straighten and fuse her spine; a rare complication led to Nnedi Okorafor becoming paralyzed from the waist down.

Nnedi Okorafor turned to writing small stories in the margins of a science-fiction book that she had.

That summer, with intense physical therapy, Nnedi Okorafor regained her ability to walk with a cane, but she was unable to continue her athletic career.

Nnedi Okorafor completed her college education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, before obtaining a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University and a master's degree and PhD in English from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Nnedi Okorafor is a 2001 graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop in Lansing, Michigan.

Nnedi Okorafor received a 2001 Hurston-Wright literary award for her story "Amphibious Green".

Nnedi Okorafor's science fiction novel Lagoon was a finalist for a British Science Fiction Association Award, a Red Tentacle Award, and a Tiptree Honor Book.

In 2020, Nnedi Okorafor released her middle grade novel Ikenga, which was nominated for the Edgar Award.

In 2023, Nnedi Okorafor announced her novella trilogy She Who Knows which would serve as a prequel and sequel to her 2010 novel Who Fears Death and would focus on the life of Najeeba, Onyesonwu's mother.

In February 2017, Nnedi Okorafor announced via Facebook that her science-meets-witchcraft short story "Hello, Moto" had been optioned by Nigerian production company Fiery Film.

Nnedi Okorafor will remain involved with the project as a consultant.

In 2005, Nnedi Okorafor wrote and published her first play, Full Moon.

In 2009, Nnedi Okorafor donated her archive to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Collection of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Northern Illinois University Library.

Nnedi Okorafor was the Young Adult Author special Guest of Honor at Detcon1, the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention; Detcon1 was putting special emphasis on YA science fiction.

Nnedi Okorafor spoke at the TEDGlobal conference in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 2017.

In October 2017, Nnedi Okorafor announced via Twitter she would be writing three issues for Marvel's Black Panther comic, picking up where author Ta-Nehisi Coates left off.

In July 2018, it announced that Nnedi Okorafor would write a solo title focused on Black Panther's sister, Shuri.

Nnedi Okorafor contributed the essay "Zula of the fourth-grade playground" to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.

Nnedi Okorafor noticed how the fantasy and science fiction genre contain little diversity, and that was her motivation for writing books of these genres set in Africa.

Nnedi Okorafor wanted to include more people of color and create stories with Africa as the setting because so few stories were set there.

Nnedi Okorafor wrote her first story as a college sophomore and made the setting of her story Nigeria.

Nnedi Okorafor cites Nigeria as "her muse" as she is heavily influenced by Nigerian folklore and its rich mythology and mysticism.