Chibundu Onuzo | |
|---|---|
 Onuzo in 2019 | |
| Born | Imachibundu Oluwadara Onuzo 1991 (age 33–34) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Notable work |
|
Imachibundu Oluwadara Onuzo FRSL (born 1991) is a Nigerian novelist. Her first novel, The Spider King's Daughter, won a Betty Trask Award, [1] was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize [2] and the Commonwealth Book Prize, [3] and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize [4] and the Etisalat Prize for Literature. [5]
Chibundu Onuzo was born in 1991 in Nigeria, the youngest of four children of parents who are doctors, and grew up in Lagos. [6] [7] She moved to England when she was 14 to study at St Swithun’s school in Winchester, Hampshire, for her GCSEs, [8] and at the age of 17 began writing her first novel, which was signed two years later by Faber and Faber and was published when she was 21. [9] [10] She was the youngest female writer ever taken on by the publisher. [11] Reviewing her second book, Welcome to Lagos (2016), Helon Habila wrote in The Guardian : "Onuzo's portrayal of human character is often too optimistic, her view of politics and society too charitable; but her ability to bring her characters to life, including the city of Lagos, perhaps the best-painted character of all, is impressive." [12]
Onuzo received a first-class bachelor's degree in history from King's College London (2012), [13] [5] and went on to earn a master's degree in public policy from University College London. [7] She studied for a PhD at King's College London, researching the West African Students' Union. [14] [15]
She has written for outlets including The Guardian [16] and NPR, [17] and contributed the short story "Sunita" to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa , edited by Margaret Busby. [18]
Onuzo's third novel Sankofa was published in the UK by Virago in June 2021, [19] and was reviewed by The Guardian as "[a]n accomplished novel that explores difference and belonging with a cool intensity". [20] Brittle Paper described it as "a love story, a political history, and a father-daughter drama". [21] Sankofa was published by Catapult in the US and by Narrative Landscape in Nigeria. [22] [23]
The Spider King's Daughter won a Betty Trask Award (2013), [24] and in 2012 was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize [25] and the Commonwealth Book Prize. [26] In addition the novel was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize [27] and for the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2013. [28]
In April 2014 Onuzo was selected for the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. [29]
In June 2018 Onuzo was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. [30]
At the 2020 American Black Film Festival, the HBO Short Film Competition was won by Dọlápọ̀ Is Fine , for which Onuzo co-wrote the screenplay and which was based on her short story "Sunita". [31] [32] The film, which was directed by Joan Iyiola, has also been longlisted for the Bafta British short film award. [33]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
