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Akwaeke Emezi

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Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi
Born (1987-06-06) June 6, 1987 (age 37)
Umuahia, Nigeria[1]
EducationNew York University (MPA)
OccupationWriter
Known forFreshwater
Pet
The Death of Vivek Oji
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir
Websitewww.akwaeke.com

Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian speculative fiction writer and video artist, best known for their novels Freshwater, Pet, and The Death of Vivek Oji.[2]

Early life and education

Akwaeke Emezi was born in Umuahia in 1987 to an Igbo Nigerian father, and a mother who was the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants living in Malaysia,[3] Emezi grew up in Aba.[4] Emezi started reading fantasy books and with their sister Yagazie[5] used storytelling to escape the riots, dictatorship, and dangerous reality of their childhoods.[6] Emezi was a "voracious" reader during childhood and they began writing short stories when they were five years old.[7][8]

Emezi relocated to Appalachia,[9] United States when they were 16 years old to attend college and experienced their first personality split.[3] After college, they enrolled in a veterinary school and dropped out before receiving their MPA from New York University.[10] Emezi briefly started a short lived anonymous sex blog and a natural-hair blog which gave them little recognition.[3] In 2014, they entered the M.F.A. creative-writing program at Syracuse where they started the draft of their debut novel Freshwater after which they attended a Nigerian writing workshop in Lagos.[3]

Career

Emezi's debut novel Freshwater tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, Ada, who is an ogbanje (an Igbo evil spirit). Emezi explores their Igbo heritage's spirituality and gender alongside those of Western construction and invites their audience to think critically about this spirit/body binary.[2][11]

Freshwater received significant critical acclaim[12][13][14] and was longlisted for numerous prestigious awards.[15][16][17][18] Emezi was also recognized as a 2018 National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree.[19]

In 2019, Freshwater was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction—the first time a non-binary transgender author has been nominated for the prize. Women's prize judge Professor Kate Williams said that the panel did not know Emezi was non-binary when the book was chosen, but she said Emezi was happy to be nominated.[20] Non-binary commentator Vic Parsons wrote that the nomination raised uncomfortable questions, asking: "would a non-binary author who was assigned male at birth have been longlisted? I highly doubt it."[21] After the nomination, it was announced that the Women's Prize Trust was working on new guidelines for transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid authors.[22] The Women's Prize later asked for Emezi's "sex as defined by law" when submitting The Death of Vivek Oji for inclusion, and Emezi chose to withdraw, calling the requirement transphobic and specifically exclusionary to trans women.[23]

Emezi's second novel and first young adult novel Pet, released on 10 September 2019, is about a transgender teenager named Jam living in a world where adults refuse to acknowledge the existence of monsters.[24] A prequel Bitter, was released in February 2022.[citation needed]

Emezi signed a two-book deal with Riverhead Books. The first, The Death of Vivek Oji, came out on 4 August 2020 and was a New York Times best seller.[25] The second is a memoir entitled Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir.[26]

Emezi's debut poetry collection Content Warning: Everything was published in April 2022.[27]

In April 2021, Deadline Hollywood announced that Amazon Studios won the right to adapt their upcoming romance novel You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty into a feature film.[28][29] It was purchased in a high six figure deal which Deadline called the biggest book deal of the year so far. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society will develop it alongside Elizabeth Raposo. Emezi will serve as the executive producer.[28]

Other works

Emezi will write and executive produce the TV series adaptation of their novel Freshwater for FX alongside Tamara P. Carter. It will be produced by FX Productions with Kevin Wandell and Lindsey Donahue.[30][31]

Personal life

Emezi identifies as non-binary transgender. They use the pronouns they/them/theirs.[32][33] They experience multiplicity and consider themself an ogbanje.[33][34] They have written about their experience of undergoing gender confirmation surgery.[35]

Awards and nominations

Won

Nominated

Bibliography

Novels

  • — (2018). Freshwater: A Novel. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-2735-8.[54]
  • — (2020). The Death of Vivek Oji: A Novel. New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-0-525-54160-8.[55]
  • — (2022). You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: A Novel. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-982188-70-2.[56]

Young adult novels

Nonfiction

Poetry

References

  1. ^ a b "Literary Birthday – 6 June – Akwaeke Emezi". Writers Write. 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  2. ^ a b Mzezewa, Tariro (2018-02-26). "In This Debut Novel, a College Student Hears Voices". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  3. ^ a b c d Binyam, Maya (2022-05-19). "'The Goal Is to Get As Bright As Possible'". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  4. ^ "Books We Love: Inside The Bubble With Akwaeke Emezi | Death, Sex & Money". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  5. ^ Leibovitz, Annie (11 January 2018). "5 Families Who Are Changing The World as We Know It". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  6. ^ "39: Akwaeke Emeziwriter and video artist". Mythos Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  7. ^ "A Spirit Born into a Human Body: Talking with Akwaeke Emezi". The Rumpus.net. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  8. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi: 'I'd read everything – even the cereal box'". the Guardian. 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  9. ^ Tre’vell Anderson. "Author Akwaeke Emezi Is Writing New Possibilities Into Being". TIME.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  10. ^ Freshwater | Grove Atlantic.
  11. ^ "In 'Freshwater,' A College Student Learns To Live With Separate Selves". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  12. ^ Waldman, Katy (2018-02-26). "A Startling Début Novel Explores the Freedom of Being Multiple". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  13. ^ Adébáyò, Ayòbámi (2018-11-15). "Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi review – a remarkable debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  14. ^ Straight, Susan (16 February 2018). "A dazzling, devastating novel: 'Freshwater' by Akwaeke Emezi". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  15. ^ a b "The Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize". www.bklynlibrary.org. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  16. ^ Times, The New York (2018-11-19). "100 Notable Books of 2018". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  17. ^ Waldman, Katy (2018-12-04). "The Best Books of 2018". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  18. ^ "NPR's Book Concierge Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads". apps.npr.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  19. ^ Schaub, Michael (2018-09-24). "National Book Foundation unveils this year's '5 Under 35' picks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  20. ^ a b Cain, Sian (2019-03-04). "Non-binary trans author nominated for Women's prize for fiction". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  21. ^ "Opinion: Be careful before celebrating the recognition of Akwaeke Emezi". The Independent. 2019-03-06. Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  22. ^ Wood, Heloise. "Women's Prize to formulate new policy around gender criteria". TheBookSeller.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  23. ^ Flood, Alison (2020-10-05). "Akwaeke Emezi shuns Women's prize over request for details of sex as defined 'by law'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  24. ^ "Pet by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780525647072 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  25. ^ "The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780525541608 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  26. ^ Anderson, Tre'vell (May 27, 2021). "Akwaeke Emezi Is Writing New Possibilities Into Being". TIME. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Vinson, Arriel (2022-04-11). "Akwaeke Emezi Explores New Terrain in 'Content Warning: Everything'". Shondaland. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  28. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (2021-04-29). "Amazon, Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society Land Akwaeke Emezi Novel 'You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  29. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi's Novel 'You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty' To Be Adapted Into A Film By Amazon Studios And Michael B. Jordan". JARO Magazine. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  30. ^ Otterson, Joe (2019-05-22). "FX to Develop Series Adaptation of Akwaeke Emezi's 'Freshwater' With Tamara P. Carter (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  31. ^ Simon, Jordan. "'Freshwater': FX Developing Series Adaptation Based On Akwaeke Emezi's Acclaimed Debut Novel". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  32. ^ Bausells, Marta (21 February 2018). "The Nonbinary Author Centering African Narratives Erased by Colonialism". Vice.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ a b Emezi, Akwaeke (2018-01-19). "Transition". The Cut. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  34. ^ Whitehouse, Matthew (2018-12-24). "akwaeke emezi: the 'freshwater' author standing on the edge and claiming it as central". i-D. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  35. ^ Emezi, Akwaeke (2018-01-19). "Transition". The Cut. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  36. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi Bio: Akwaeke Emezi is an Igbo/Tamil... - globalartsfund". Global Arts Fund 2017. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  37. ^ "Global Arts Fund Archives - Page 2 of 4". Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  38. ^ "Who Is Like God". Granta Magazine. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  39. ^ "Announcing the 2019 Nommo Award Winners". 25 October 2019.
  40. ^ "Nommo 2019: Novel Nominations - African Speculative Fiction Society". www.africansfs.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  41. ^ Lothian, Alexis (2020-04-11). "Akwaeke Emezi wins 2019 Otherwise Award! Honor List Announced « Otherwise Award". Otherwise Award. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  42. ^ "2020 Walter Awards". We Need Diverse Books. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  43. ^ "AKWAEKE EMEZI". Aspen Words. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  44. ^ "7 Tips on Writing Fiction from Aspen Words Literary Prize Nominees". The Aspen Institute. 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  45. ^ "2019 PEN/Hemingway Award Finalists Announced | The Hemingway Society". www.hemingwaysociety.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  46. ^ "Akwaeke Emezi". Women's Prize for Fiction. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  47. ^ "The Center for Fiction". www.centerforfiction.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  48. ^ "Andrew Carnegie Medals Longlist | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  49. ^ "Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists". locusmag.com. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  50. ^ "The 2019 National Book Awards Finalists Announced". National Book Foundation. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  51. ^ "Shortlist for Dylan Thomas Prize Is Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  52. ^ Marketing, Chris (2020-02-09). "2020 Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Literature". Eisenhower Public Library. Retrieved 2022-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  53. ^ SLJ Staff (2022-01-22). "We Need Diverse Books Names 2020 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-03-14. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  54. ^ "Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi". Grove Atlantic. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  55. ^ "The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780525541608". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  56. ^ "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  57. ^ "Pet by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780525647072". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  58. ^ "Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780593309032". Penguin Random House. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  59. ^ "Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi: 9780593329191". Penguin Random House. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  60. ^ "Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi". Copper Canyon Press. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
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