Arinze Ifeakandu

Last updated

Arinze Ifeakandu
Born1995
OccupationWriter
NationalityNigerian
Alma mater University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Iowa
GenreFiction, poetry
Notable works God's Children Are Little Broken Things (2022)
Notable awards Dylan Thomas Prize, O. Henry Prize
Website
arinzeifeakandu.com

Arinze Ifeakandu is a Nigerian writer known for the collection of his short stories, God's Children Are Little Broken Things , [1] which won the Dylan Thomas Prize [2] and the Republic of Consciousness Prize for the US and Canada, [3] and was shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize, [4] the Lambda Awards, [5] and received the Story Prize's Spotlight Award. [6] He also won an O. Henry Prize for one of the stories. [7]

Contents

Education

Ifeakandu attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. [8]

Literary career

Ifeakandu's short story collection, God's Children Are Little Broken Things, was published by A Public Space Books in 2022. Kirkus Reviews gave it a rave:

The stories in Ifeakandu's debut collection are nothing less than breathtaking and daring, each exploring queer relationships in all their nuanced and unpredictable configurations: secret romances, brief but passionate encounters, relationships that are tested by cultural pressures. [9]

In a 5-star review, Open Country Mag called it "a momentous debut of gay love and human fullness", writing:

Stripped to its most important relationships, God’s Children narrates youthful love in a country where being gay is difficult. Lush with evocative passages, it uncompromisingly follows the promise and pains of its characters. So real are they, you could almost reach out and touch them; so easily could you make their complications yours, untangling their excesses and poring over the minute details. Ifeakandu does not sacrifice flow; in this book, sentences curl like perfect ocean waves on a bright day. [10]

The Times Literary Supplement described the characters as "by necessity virtuosos of concealment and students of contrasting masculinities. When they’re alone together they express themselves tenderly, and sometimes camp it up; in public they can’t risk standing out." [11] i-D portrayed the stories as "bitter sweet" and Ifeakandu as "a master observer." [12]

The Irish Times wrote that the stories "depict queer love in all its beauty, strength, and frailty." [13] The Common suggested that "Ifeakandu deserves to be widely read for a precise, elegant, and erotic individual voice melded to a breadth of cultural material; he makes each character’s particular experiences feel universal, and the reader ache and love along with them." [14]

Publications

Related Research Articles

The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first published in the United States during a calendar year. The founder of the prize is Julie Lindsey, and the director is Larry Dark. He was previously series editor for the annual short story anthology Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards from 1997 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Louise Gay</span> Canadian illustrator and childrens writer (born 1952)

Marie-Louise Gay is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator. She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple Governor General's Awards, and multiple Janet Savage Blachford Prizes, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivek Shraya</span> Musical artist

Vivek Shraya is a Canadian musician, writer, and visual artist. She currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, where she is an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of Calgary. As a trans femme of colour, Shraya often incorporates her identity in her music, writing, visual art, theatrical work, and films. She is a seven-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, and considered a Great Canadian Filmmaker of the Future by CBC Arts.

Ashley Little is a Canadian author of both adult and young adult literature.

The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a work of fiction on lesbian themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the writer, men and heterosexual women may also be nominated for or win the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinelo Okparanta</span> Nigerian-American writer

Chinelo Okparanta is a Nigerian-American novelist and short-story writer. She was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where she was raised until the age of 10, when she emigrated to the United States with her family.

Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author for children, adolescents and young adults. She received the 2012 Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature and the 2013 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award for her young adult novel The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, which deals with the aftermath of a school shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chigozie Obioma</span> Nigerian writer (born 1986)

Chigozie Obioma is a Nigerian writer who wrote the novels The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of publication. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His third novel, The Road to the Country, was published in 2024, and was described by The Guardian as 'giving voice to the victims of the Nigerian civil war'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Ramadan</span> Syrian–Canadian novelist, public speaker, and LGBTQ-refugee activist

Ahmad Danny Ramadan is a Syrian–Canadian novelist, public speaker, and LGBTQ-refugee activist who was born in Damascus, Syria. Ramadan's work focuses on themes of immigration, identity, diaspora and belonging. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, won multiple awards. The Foghorn Echoes won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdi Nazemian</span> Iranian-American author, screenwriter and producer

Abdi Nazemian is an Iranian-American author, screenwriter, and producer. His debut novel, The Walk-In Closet, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction at the 27th Lambda Literary Awards. He has subsequently received a second Lambda Literary Award for his young adult novel Only This Beautiful Moment, as well as a Stonewall Book Award for Only This Beautiful Moment and a Stonewall Honor for Like a Love Story, both from the American Library Association.

Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American author of young adult fiction magical realism, best known for their Stonewall Honor-winning novel When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, and The Weight of Feathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otosirieze Obi-Young</span> Writer and editor (born 1994)

Otosirieze Obi-Young is a Nigerian writer, editor, culture journalist and curator. He is editor of Open Country Mag. He was editor of Folio Nigeria, a then CNN affiliate, and former deputy editor of Brittle Paper. In 2019, he won the inaugural The Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature. He has been described as among the "top curators and editors from Africa."

<i>On Earth Were Briefly Gorgeous</i> 2019 novel by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is the debut novel by Vietnamese American poet Ocean Vuong, published by Penguin Press on June 4, 2019. An epistolary novel, it is written in the form of a letter from a Vietnamese American son to his illiterate mother. It was a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction.

The Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works that celebrate or explore LGBT themes. The organization is considered to be one of the main promoters of new and emerging LGBT writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TJ Klune</span> Queer romantic fiction and fantasy writer (born 1982)

Travis John Klune is an American author of fantasy and romantic fiction featuring gay and LGBTQ+ characters. His fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea is a New York Times best seller and winner of the 2021 Alex and Mythopoeic Awards. Klune has spoken about how his asexuality influences his writing. His novel Into This River I Drown won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance in 2014.

<i>Flamer</i> (novel) 2020 graphic novel by Mike Curato

Flamer is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Mike Curato. It is set in 1995, in a Boy Scouts summer camp, and tells the story of Aiden, who is bullied for his appearance, including acting in a manner considered stereotypical of gay men. Curato was a scout and based his experience as a closeted teenager to write the novel.

Lev A. C. Rosen, also known as L. C. Rosen, is an American author.

Robin Stevenson is a Canadian author of thirty books for kids and teens. Her writing has been translated into several languages, and published in more than a dozen countries. Robin's books regularly receive starred reviews, have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and a Stonewall Book Award, and have been finalists for the Governor General's Awards, the Lambda Literary Award, and others. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, for toddlers through teens.

<i>Gods Children Are Little Broken Things</i> 2022 Novel by Arinze Ifeakandu

God's Children Are Little Broken Things was a short story collection written by Nigerian author Arinze Ifeakandu and published by A Public Space in 2022. It provides nine distinct "stories about the joys and tribulations of queer love in contemporary Nigeria".

References

  1. ↑ Willie-Okafor, Paula (4 April 2023). "With God's Children Are Little Broken Things, Arinze Ifeakandu Garners Breakout Acclaim". Open Country Mag. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Creamer, Ella (11 May 2023). "Arinze Ifeakandu wins Dylan Thomas prize for 'kaleidoscopic reflection of queer life in Nigeria'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Manley, Janet (28 March 2023). "Arinze Ifeakandu has won the 2022 Republic of Consciousness prize". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Schaub, Michael. "Finalists for the 2022 Kirkus Prize Are Revealed". Kirkus. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Lewis, LeKesha (20 March 2023). "Announcing the 35th Annual Lammy Awards Finalists". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "2022/23 Winner & Finalists". The Story Prize. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Groff, Lauren (24 April 2023). "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. ↑ Eng, Viviane (16 June 2022). "THE PEN TEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARINZE IFEAKANDU". PEN.org. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "GOD'S CHILDREN ARE LITTLE BROKEN THINGS". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Esomnofu, Emmanuel (14 June 2022). "God's Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu Review—A Momentous Debut of Gay Love and Human Fullness". Open Country Mag. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Gordon, Edmund. "Alone in each other's company". The Times Literary Supplement. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. ↑ C.J., Nelson. "Arinze Ifeakandu writes bittersweet stories of Nigerian queerness". i-D. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Doyle, Martin. "Arinze Ifeakandu: An exploration of what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Lichtblau, Julia (22 December 2022). "Review: God's Children Are Little Broken Things". The Common. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.