Wole Talabi

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Wole Talabi
Born
Oluwole Talabi

(1986-02-28) 28 February 1986 (age 39)
Warri, Delta State, Nigeria
Nationality Nigerian
Other namesThe Alchemist [1]
Occupation(s)Author, editor
Notable work Africanfuturism: An Anthology (2020), Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (2023)

Oluwole Talabi (born 28 February 1986) is a Nigerian science fiction writer, engineer, and editor, [1] [2] [3] who is considered among the Third Generation of Nigerian Writers. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Talabi was raised in Warri, Delta, a city in southern Nigeria, where his father was a chemical engineer, before later moving to Benin. [1] He studied chemical engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University and earned a master's degree at Imperial College London. [5]

Career

Talabi then worked as an engineer, and partway through his career began to write professionally. He stated that he had never been formally trained in writing except for two online classes from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Michigan, but he had written stories since learning to read as a child. [5]

His works include an amount of short stories; the anthologies These Words Expose Us: An Anthology (2014), Lights Out: Resurrection (2016), Africanfuturism: An Anthology (2020).

Incomplete Solutions, published in 2019, was Talabi's first published collection of short stories, covering five years of his writing. The stories are from a range of speculative genres but also include non-speculative romance, and they explore contradicting philosophies and levels of hope, but often have themes of choice and identity. They embed Nigerian culture and perspectives without explaining them to unfamiliar readers. Adri Joy, reviewing for Strange Horizons , praised the intriguing, fun and varied nature of the stories, while wishing for fewer male-centered or chauvinistic perspectives. [6]

Talabi published his debut novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon in 2023. [7] Shigidi is a Yoruba god of nightmares who wants to get out of his minimum wage job at the Orisha Spirit Company. Shigidi's lover Nneoma, a succubus, helps him pull off a heist so he can leave: they have been tasked with stealing back the heavily protected brass head of Obulafon from the British Museum. [8] Chris Kluwe, reviewing for Lightspeed , praised the novel and said the pair's relationship and themes of capitalism and colonialism drive the story. [7] Gary K. Wolfe, reviewing for Locus, praised the book's balance of genre elements, keeping the "kinetic mix of noir heist fiction, erotic romance, political intrigue, and supernatural fireworks without distracting too much from the genu­inely affecting relationship between Nneoma and Shigidi." [8] Architra Mittra, for Strange Horizons, also praised the book's balance of genre and its entertaining exploration of heavy themes, but criticized the stereotypical elements of the main relationship. [9]

Convergence Problems, a collection released in 2024, focused on more traditional science fiction themes, with ideas, characterization, and Nigerian culture driving the pieces. [10]

He was described in Scientific American as "an author who blends transhumanism and the Turing test". [11]

Talabi has been a manager of a database of speculative fiction by African authors on the African Speculative Fiction Society website. [12] [13] Talabi is a founding charter member of the society. [14]

Personal life

He married Rocío Vizuete Fernandez in 2023 at Madrid, Spain. [15]

Awards and recognition

Caption text
YearWorkAwardCategoryResultReference
2017Wednesday's Story Nommo Award Best Short StoryShortlisted [16]
2018The Regression TestWon [17]
2020Incompleteness TheoriesBest NovellaWon [18]
When We Dream We Are Our GodBest Short StoryShortlisted [18]
2021 Africanfuturism: An Anthology Locus Award Best Anthology Finalist [19]
2022"An Arc of Electric Skin" Nommo Award Best Short StoryShortlisted [20]
"Blowout" Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award Honorable Mention [21]
"A Dream of Electric Mothers" Sidewise Award for Alternate History Short FormWon [22]
2023 Hugo Award Best Novelette Finalist [23]
2024 Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon Crawford Award Honorable Mention [24]
Nommo Award Best NovelWon [25]
World Fantasy Award Best Novel Finalist [26]

After winning his third Nommo Award in 2024, and having won on all three prose categories, he announced that he would decline any future nominations to clear the field for new writers. [27] [28]

Bibliography

Novels

Collections

Anthologies

Short Fiction

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ryman, Geoff (7 February 2019). "Wole Talabi: 100 AFRICAN WRITERS OF SFF – PART THIRTEEN: THE TRAVELERS" . Strange Horizons . No. 100. Lagos. p. 13. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  2. Walton, Jo Lindsay (29 April 2020). ""The big idea": An interview with Wole Talabi". Vector . No. 289. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  3. Moreno-Garcia, Silvia; Tidhar, Lavie (21 May 2021). "A magical selection of African speculative fiction". Borneo Bulletin Online . Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  4. Umezurike, Chukwuebuka (23 January 2022). "New Nigerian Literature Unsung Heroes". ThisDay Newspaper . Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 Sorg, Arley (February 2024). "When the World Changes: A Conversation with Wole Talabi". Clarkesworld Magazine. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  6. Joy, Adri (20 July 2020). "Incomplete Solutions by Wole Talabi". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 Kluwe, Chris (24 August 2023). "Book Review: Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 Wolfe, Gary K. (19 September 2023). "Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi". Locus Online. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  9. Mittra, Archita (8 November 2023). "Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  10. Wolfe, Gary K. (6 March 2024). "Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi". Locus Online. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  11. Brady, Amy (1 July 2021). "Exploring Black Sci-Fi, Learning through Color, the Cost of Cooling, and Other New Books". Scientific American . Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. Ryman, Geoff (26 October 2018). "Endnote: Afro-? African-? Astro-?". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  13. "List of Published African SFF". African Speculative Fiction Society. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  14. "Press Pack". www.africansfs.com. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  15. Ghosh, Kuhelika (25 August 2023). "Nigerian Speculative Fiction Author Wole Talabi Ties the Knot in Beautiful Summer Wedding". Brittle Paper . Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  16. "Announcing the 2017 Nommo Award Winners". Reactor. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  17. "2018 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  18. 1 2 "2020 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  19. Molly Templeton (26 June 2021). "Announcing the 2021 Locus Awards Winners". Tor.com . Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  20. "2022 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  21. "2022 Jim Ban Memorial Award Winner". Locus. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  22. "2022 Sidewise Award Winners". Locus. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  23. "2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  24. "Chandrasekera Wins Crawford". Locus. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  25. "2024 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  26. "2024 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  27. "2024 Nommo Awards". 10 August 2024.
  28. "Drink And Drop The Cup: My Nommo Award Acceptance Speech, Or Something Like It". 14 August 2024.