Ukamaka Olisakwe
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Ukamaka Olisakwe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 October 1982 |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, screen writer |
| Period | 2010–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]
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.[6] Olisakwe was a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of South Dakota, specializing in Literary Studies and Creative Writing. Her dissertation, titled "The Things They Knew", is a work of historical fiction that spans over 120 years, from the 1890s to the 2010s in Nigeria.[7]
Writing career
Olisakwe's debut novel, Eyes of a Goddess, was published in 2012.[8][9][10]
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.[11] She has been featured in the BBC.[12][13] Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and African Hadithi.[14] She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash,[15][16] a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.[17] 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.[18] She was a guest and panel member at the 2014 Ake Arts and Books Festival[19][20] and the Hay Festival.[21]
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[22] – 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",[23] while another reviewer described it as a "gripping story about adolescent romance, deception and yearning".[24]
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.[25]
In July 2020, Olisakwe founded Isele Magazine.[26]
Lectures
Olisakwe was a guest at the 2015 Writivism Festival in Kampala, Uganda, where she taught a fiction master-class.[27] On 28 May 2015, she spoke on the topic "You Could Stop The Next Maternal Death Statistic" at TEDxGarki.[28]
