:Ukamaka Olisakwe
{{short description|Nigerian writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Ukamaka Olisakwe
| image =
| caption = Olisakwe in 2015
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1982|10|24}}
| birth_place = Kano State, Northern Nigeria
| 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 projectMargaret Busby, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/10/port-harcourt-world-book-capital-2014-africa-39 "Africa39: How we chose the writers for Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014"], The Guardian, 10 April 2014. and included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey).[http://www.hayfestival.com/artistlist-m-p.aspx Africa39 "list of artists"], Hay Festival.[http://www.thebookseller.com/news/africa39-list-promising-writers-revealed.html "Africa39 list of promising writers revealed"], The Bookseller, 8 April 2014.[http://www.hayfestival.com/africa39/downloads/Africa39_authors_Biographies.pdf Africa39 Authors Biographies], hayfestival.com.
Personal life and education
Olisakwe was born and raised in Kano State, northern Nigeria.{{cite news|author=Ukamaka Olisakwe|title=Growing Up Fearful in Nigeria|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/opinion/growing-up-fearful-in-nigeria.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=1 December 2014}} 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.{{cite news |author=Mikael Mulugeta |title='I was able to be the main subject of my writing': Ukamaka Olisakwe on becoming a writer, the new generation of female Nigerian authors |url=https://now.uiowa.edu/2016/10/iwp-ukamaka-olisakwe |work=Iowa Now |date=1 November 2016 |access-date=18 March 2017}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-10 |title=Nigerian Author Ukamaka Olisakwe Successfully Completes Her PhD! |url=https://brittlepaper.com/2024/06/nigerian-author-ukamaka-olisakwe-successfully-completes-her-phd/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Brittle Paper |language=en-US}}
Writing career
Olisakwe's debut novel, Eyes of a Goddess, was published in 2012.{{Cite web|title=Hay Festival|url=https://www.hayfestival.com/artist.aspx?artistid=5998|website=www.hayfestival.com|access-date=2020-05-30}}{{Cite book |last=Amazon |title=Eyes of a Goddess |publisher=Piraeus Books LLC |year=2012 |isbn=978-0985203818 |location=UK |pages=304 |language=English}}{{Cite web |last=Better World Books |date=2022 |title=Eyes of a Goddess |url=https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/9780985203818?shipto=US&curcode=USD |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.betterworldbooks.com}}
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.{{Cite web|title=2015 Writivism Mentors|url=https://writivism.org/2014/10/30/2015-writivism-mentors/|last=cacedirector|date=2014-10-30|website=Writivism|language=en|access-date=2020-05-30}} She has been featured in the BBC.{{Cite web |last=Jalada |date=2016-05-30 |title="Nkem's Nightmare" By Ukamaka Olisakwe |url=https://jaladaafrica.org/2016/05/30/nkems-nightmare-by-ukamaka-olisakwe/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Jalada Africa |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Ukamaka Olisakwe |url=http://www.iwpcollections.org/ukamaka-olisakwe-2 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=International Writing Program Collections |language=en-US}} Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and African Hadithi.{{cite book |editor=Allfrey, Ellah Wakatama |title=Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara |year=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury |pages=512 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n58iBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT512 |isbn=978-1-62040-780-6 }} She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash,{{cite news|author= Akinseye, Isabella|title=Spotlight on Ukamaka Olisakwe|url=http://www.dstv.com/News/Spotlight-on-Ukamaka-Olisakwe/115765|date=14 January 2015|access-date=3 February 2015|agency=DStv}}{{Cite web |last=Latestnigeriannews |title=Ukamaka Olisakwe: Screen writer behind The Calabash |url=http://www.latestnigeriannews.com/news/1293128/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Latest Nigerian News |language=English}} a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.[http://africamagic.dstv.com/2015/01/14/exciting-january-for-africa-magic-viewers/ "Exciting January for Africa Magic Viewers!"] Africa Magic, 14 January 2015.
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.{{cite news|last1=Richards|first1=Oludare|title=Nigeria: Writivism to Engage Readers and Writers in 2015|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201501071245.html|work=The Guardian|location=Nigeria|date=7 January 2015|via=AllAfrica}}
She was a guest and panel member at the 2014 Ake Arts and Books Festival{{cite news|title=Soyinka, Obasanjo, Amaechi, others for Ake Festival|url=http://tribune.com.ng/arts-culture/item/21546-soyinka-obasanjo-amaechi-others-for-ake-festival/21546-soyinka-obasanjo-amaechi-others-for-ake-festival|access-date=3 February 2015|work=Nigerian Tribune}}{{cite web|title=Ukamaka Olisakwe|url=http://www.akefestival.org/index.php/features/aabf-2014-guests/item/364-ukamaka-olisakwe|publisher=Ake Arts & Book Festival|access-date=3 February 2015}} and the Hay Festival.{{cite web|title=Ukamaka Olisakwe|publisher=Hay Festival 2014|url=https://www.hayfestival.com/artist.aspx?artistid=5998|access-date=3 February 2015}}
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{{cite news|last=Abodunrin|first=Akintayo |title=Africa39 Writers Unveiled at London Book Fair|url=http://www.tribune.com.ng/arts-culture/item/3217-africa-39-writers-unveiled-at-london-book-fair/3217-africa-39-writers-unveiled-at-london-book-fair|work=Nigerian Tribune|date=13 April 2014}} – 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",{{cite news|title=Continental drift: Africa39, an anthology of writing from south of the Sahara, is too good to miss |author=Forbes, Malcolm |url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/the-review/continental-drift-africa39-an-anthology-of-writing-from-south-of-the-sahara-is-too-good-to-miss|work=The National|date=23 October 2014}} while another reviewer described it as a "gripping story about adolescent romance, deception and yearning".{{cite news|title=Creativity and dissidence |author=Walia, Shelley |url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/literary-review/creativity-and-dissidence/article6940514.ece|work=The Hindu|date=4 March 2015}}
In 2016, Olisakwe was a resident at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. In 2018, Olisakwe won the Vermont College of Fine Arts Emerging Writers Scholarship to pursue an MFA in Writing and Publishing.{{Cite web|title=Internationally acclaimed Nigerian author earns VCFA's 2018 Emerging Writer Scholarship|url=https://vcfa.edu/internationally-acclaimed-nigerian-author-earns-vcfas-2018-emerging-writer-scholarship/|date=2018-05-16|website=Vermont College of Fine Arts|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}
In July 2020, Olisakwe founded Isele Magazine.{{Cite news|last=Dahir|first=Abdi Latif|date=17 July 2021|title=The New Magazines and Journals Shaping Africa's Literary Scene|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/world/africa/lolwe-doek-africa-literary-magazines.html|access-date=25 May 2022|issn=0362-4331}}
Lectures
Olisakwe was a guest at the 2015 Writivism Festival in Kampala, Uganda, where she taught a fiction master-class.{{cite web| url=http://writivism.com/?page_id=2603 | title=None}}{{Dead link | date=February 2024 | fix-attempted=yes}} On 28 May 2015, she spoke on the topic "You Could Stop The Next Maternal Death Statistic" at TEDxGarki.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-HOGIF6VY "You could stop the next maternal death statistic | Ukamaka Olisakwe | TEDxGarki"]. YouTube
Recognition
- 2014: Listed among Africa39 project of 39 writers aged under 40.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-06 |title=A Novelist Entered Literary Curation, Still Honouring Her Feminist Roots |url=https://opencountrymag.com/a-novelist-entered-literary-curation-still-honouring-her-feminist-roots/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Open Country Mag |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=See the Lovely Photos From Africa 39 Events at the Port Harcourt Book Festival |url=https://brittlepaper.com/2014/11/lovely-photos-african-39-events-port-harcourt-book-festival/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=brittlepaper.com}}{{Cite web |date=2014-04-10 |title=Africa39: how we chose the writers for Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/10/port-harcourt-world-book-capital-2014-africa-39 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-09-29 |title=A conversation with Ukamaka Olisakwe |url=https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/a-conversation-with-ukamaka-olisakwe/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=The Shallow Tales Review |language=en-US}}
- 2014: Listed among This Is Africa's "Best 100 Books 2010–2014" for Eyes of a Goddess.[http://thisisafrica.me/lifestyle/tia-100-best-books-2010-2014/ "The TIA 100 – Best Books, 2010-2014"], This Is Africa, 24 December 2014.
Bibliography
=Novels=
- {{cite book |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=Eyes of a Goddess |year=2012 |publisher=Piraeus Books | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sq6suAAACAAJ&q=%22Ukamaka+Olisakwe%22 |isbn=9780985203818 |author-mask=1 }}
- — (2020) Ogadinma, or Everything Will Be All Right.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-15 |title=Ukamaka Olisakwe: Breaking free |url=https://bookanista.com/ukamaka-olisakwe/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Bookanista |language=en-US}} The Indigo Press.
=Short stories=
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=Girl to Woman |work=Sentinel Nigeria |date=May 2011 |author-mask=1 }}{{Citation|title=A Girl from Montana|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1djmg4b.7|work=The Enigma Woman|pages=11–30|publisher=UNP - Nebraska|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1djmg4b.7|isbn=978-0-8032-0692-2|access-date=2020-05-30}}
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |author-mask= 1|title=This is how I remember it |work=Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara |date=October 2014 }}{{Cite web|title=Continental drift: Africa39, an anthology of writing from south of the Sahara, is too good to miss|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/continental-drift-africa39-an-anthology-of-writing-from-south-of-the-sahara-is-too-good-to-miss-1.277646|website=The National|date=23 October 2014 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-30}}
= Articles =
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=Of Rising and the Home-Based Nigerian Writer |url=http://www.sarabamag.com/of-rising-and-the-home-based-nigerian-writer/ |work=Saraba |date=2013 |author-mask=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226062548/http://www.sarabamag.com/of-rising-and-the-home-based-nigerian-writer/ |archive-date=26 December 2014 |df=dmy-all }}
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=The North is Dead |url=http://africanhadithi.com/article/1835742570/The_North_Is_Dead |work=African Hadithi|date=11 March 2014 |author-mask=1 }}
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=Growing Up Fearful in Nigeria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/opinion/growing-up-fearful-in-nigeria.html |work=The New York Times |date=1 December 2014 |author-mask=1 }}
- {{cite news |author=Ukamaka Olisakwe |title=In Nigeria, an Election to Believe In|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/opinion/in-nigeria-an-election-to-believe-in.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times |date=8 April 2015 |author-mask=1 }}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olisakwe, Ukamaka}}
Category:Nigerian women novelists
Category:21st-century Nigerian novelists
Category:21st-century Nigerian women writers
Category:21st-century Nigerian essayists
Category:Nigerian screenwriters
Category:Nigerian women screenwriters