Ukamaka Olisakwe

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Ukamaka Olisakwe
Born (1982-10-24) 24 October 1982 (age 41)
Kano State, Northern Nigeria
OccupationNovelist, short story writer,screen writer
Period2010–present

Ukamaka Evelyn Olisakwe (born 24 October 1982) is a Nigerian feminist author, short-story writer, and screenwriter. In 2014 she was chosen as one of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40, showcased in the Africa39 project[1] and included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey).[2][3][4]

Personal life and education[edit]

Olisakwe was born and raised in Kano State, northern Nigeria.[5] Her parents are from eastern Nigeria. She completed her secondary education in northern Nigeria and subsequently earned a degree in Computer Science from Abia State Polytechnic, in Aba, Nigeria.[6]

Writing career[edit]

Olisakwe's debut novel, Eyes of a Goddess, was published in 2012.[7][8][9]

She has written numerous short stories and articles, most of which have appeared in blogs and online journals, including Olisa.tv, Saraba, Sentinel Nigeria and Short Story Day Africa.[10] She has been featured in the BBC.[11][12] Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and African Hadithi.[13] She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash,[14][15] a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.[16] Olisakwe administers the blog for the Writivism Mentorship Programme, a project of the Centre for African Cultural Excellence, and was a co-facilitator at the Lagos Workshop.[17] She was a guest and panel member at the 2014 Ake Arts and Books Festival[18][19] and the Hay Festival.[20]

Olisakwe was selected as one of the 39 most promising writers under the age of 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora, in the Africa39 project[21] – a Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club initiative in celebration of the UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 – and is included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey). Olisakwe's contribution, "This Is How I Remember it", was described by one reviewer as "a clear-eyed account of a girl's romantic awakening in Nigeria" and a story "so good it leaves us wanting more",[22] while another reviewer described it as a "gripping story about adolescent romance, deception and yearning".[23]

In 2016, Olisakwe was a resident at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.[6] In 2018, Olisakwe won the Vermont College of Fine Arts Emerging Writers Scholarship to pursue an MFA in Writing and Publishing.[24]

In July 2020, Olisakwe founded Isele Magazine.[25]

Lectures[edit]

Olisakwe was a guest at the 2015 Writivism Festival in Kampala, Uganda, where she taught a fiction master-class.[26] On 28 May 2015, she spoke on how "You Could Stop The Next Maternal Death Statistic" at TEDxGarki.[27]

Recognition[edit]

  • 2014: Listed among Africa39 project of 39 writers aged under 40.[28][29][30][31]
  • 2014: Listed among This Is Africa's "Best 100 Books 2010–2014" for Eyes of a Goddess.[32]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • — (2012). Eyes of a Goddess. Piraeus Books. ISBN 9780985203818.
  • — (2020) Ogadinma, or Everything Will Be All Right.[33] The Indigo Press.

Short stories[edit]

  • — (May 2011). "Girl to Woman". Sentinel Nigeria.[34]
  • — (October 2014). "This is how I remember it". Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara.[35]

Articles[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Margaret Busby, "Africa39: How we chose the writers for Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014", The Guardian, 10 April 2014.
  2. ^ Africa39 "list of artists", Hay Festival.
  3. ^ "Africa39 list of promising writers revealed", The Bookseller, 8 April 2014.
  4. ^ Africa39 Authors Biographies, hayfestival.com.
  5. ^ Ukamaka Olisakwe (1 December 2014). "Growing Up Fearful in Nigeria". The New York Times.
  6. ^ a b Mikael Mulugeta (1 November 2016). "'I was able to be the main subject of my writing': Ukamaka Olisakwe on becoming a writer, the new generation of female Nigerian authors". Iowa Now. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Hay Festival". www.hayfestival.com. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. ^ Amazon (2012). Eyes of a Goddess. UK: Piraeus Books LLC. p. 304. ISBN 978-0985203818.
  9. ^ Better World Books (2022). "Eyes of a Goddess". www.betterworldbooks.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  10. ^ cacedirector (30 October 2014). "2015 Writivism Mentors". Writivism. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ^ Jalada (30 May 2016). ""Nkem's Nightmare" By Ukamaka Olisakwe". Jalada Africa. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Ukamaka Olisakwe". International Writing Program Collections. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  13. ^ Allfrey, Ellah Wakatama, ed. (2014). Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara. Bloomsbury. p. 512. ISBN 978-1-62040-780-6.
  14. ^ Akinseye, Isabella (14 January 2015). "Spotlight on Ukamaka Olisakwe". DStv. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  15. ^ Latestnigeriannews. "Ukamaka Olisakwe: Screen writer behind The Calabash". Latest Nigerian News. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Exciting January for Africa Magic Viewers!" Africa Magic, 14 January 2015.
  17. ^ Richards, Oludare (7 January 2015). "Nigeria: Writivism to Engage Readers and Writers in 2015". The Guardian. Nigeria – via AllAfrica.
  18. ^ "Soyinka, Obasanjo, Amaechi, others for Ake Festival". Nigerian Tribune. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Ukamaka Olisakwe". Ake Arts & Book Festival. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Ukamaka Olisakwe". Hay Festival 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  21. ^ Abodunrin, Akintayo (13 April 2014). "Africa39 Writers Unveiled at London Book Fair". Nigerian Tribune.
  22. ^ Forbes, Malcolm (23 October 2014). "Continental drift: Africa39, an anthology of writing from south of the Sahara, is too good to miss". The National.
  23. ^ Walia, Shelley (4 March 2015). "Creativity and dissidence". The Hindu.
  24. ^ "Internationally acclaimed Nigerian author earns VCFA's 2018 Emerging Writer Scholarship". Vermont College of Fine Arts. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ^ Dahir, Abdi Latif (17 July 2021). "The New Magazines and Journals Shaping Africa's Literary Scene". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  26. ^ "None".[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "You could stop the next maternal death statistic | Ukamaka Olisakwe | TEDxGarki". YouTube
  28. ^ "A Novelist Entered Literary Curation, Still Honouring Her Feminist Roots". Open Country Mag. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  29. ^ "See the Lovely Photos From Africa 39 Events at the Port Harcourt Book Festival". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Africa39: how we chose the writers for Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014". the Guardian. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  31. ^ "A conversation with Ukamaka Olisakwe". The Shallow Tales Review. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  32. ^ "The TIA 100 – Best Books, 2010-2014", This Is Africa, 24 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Ukamaka Olisakwe: Breaking free". Bookanista. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  34. ^ "A Girl from Montana", The Enigma Woman, UNP - Nebraska, pp. 11–30, doi:10.2307/j.ctt1djmg4b.7, ISBN 978-0-8032-0692-2, retrieved 30 May 2020
  35. ^ "Continental drift: Africa39, an anthology of writing from south of the Sahara, is too good to miss". The National. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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