Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Adaobi Tricia Obinne Nwaubani is a Nigerian novelist, humorist, essayist and journalist. Her debut novel, I Do Not Come to you by Chance,[1] won the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Africa),[2][3] a Betty Trask First Book award,[4] and was named by The Washington Post as one of the Best Books of 2009.[5] Her debut Young Adult novel, Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree, based on interviews with girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, was published by HarperCollins in September 2018. It won the 2018 Raven Award for Excellence in Arts and Entertainment, was named as one of the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, and is a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2019 selection.

Adaobi Tricia Obinne Nwaubani
Born
Enugu, Enugu State
NationalityNigerian
OccupationNovelist
Known forWriting
WebsiteAuthor's official website

Early life and education

Born in Enugu, Nigeria, to Chief Chukwuma Hope Nwaubani and Dame Patricia Uberife Nwaubani in 1976, Nwaubani was raised by both parents in her hometown Umuahia,[6] Abia State, among the Igbo people. Her family is descended from members of the Nigerian chieftaincy system; her great-grandfather Chief Nwaubani Ogogo Oriaku - the source of her surname - was a famous slavetrader and middleman of the Royal Niger Company in the 19th century.[7]

At the age of 10, she left home to attend boarding school at the Federal Government Girls College Owerri. She studied Psychology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria's premier university.[8] As a teenager, Nwaubani secretly dreamed of becoming a CIA or KGB agent.[8] She earned her first income from winning a writing competition at the age of 13. Her mother is a cousin to Flora Nwapa, the first female African writer to publish a book.[9] In her first year at University, she was a member of the Idia Hall Chess Team, and also a member of the University's (classical music) choir.[10]

Nwaubani was one of the pioneer editorial staff of Nigeria's now defunct NEXT newspapers, established by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dele Olojede.[11]

Personal life

She lives in Abuja, Nigeria, where she works as a consultant.

Bibliography

I Do Not Come to You by Chance is Nwaubani's debut novel, published in 2009.[12] Set in the world of Nigerian email scams, the book tells the story of a young man, Kingsley, who turns to his Uncle Boniface for help in bailing his family out of poverty.

Awards
  • 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (Africa)[13]
  • 2010 Betty Trask First Book Award[14]
  • 2010 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa finalist[15]
  • 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature shortlist[16]
  • The Washington Post Best Books 2009[17]
  • 2018 recipient of the Raven Award of Excellence for her book "Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree"[18]

Influences

Nwaubani has expressed concern over the largely somber tone of African novels.[19] She credits Irish-American writer Frank McCourt's Pulitzer-winning Angela's Ashes with showing her that she could write about serious issues in a humorous tone.[20] She is also a great admirer of British humorist P. G. Wodehouse.

References
  1. Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia (2009). I Do Not Come to You by Chance. Hachette UK. ISBN 9780297858720.
  2. "Marié Heese and Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Win the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize – Africa Region Awards". 11 March 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  3. Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia (7 October 2012). "My degree is better than yours". Premium Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. "The Betty Trask Prizes and Awards". The Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. "Best Books of 2009". Washington Post.
  6. "Adaobi Nwaubani talks with African Writing Online, many literatures, one voice". african-writing.com.
  7. Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia (15 July 2018). "My Great Grandfather, the Nigerian Slavetrader". The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. "About Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani". Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani website. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  9. "Adaobi Nwaubani talks with African Writing Online [many literatures, one voice]; Interviews". African-writing.com. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  10. "Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani". www.adaobitricia.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  11. "Nigeria's 'brown envelope' journalism". BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  12. Banerjee, Neelanjana. "I Do Not Come to You By Chance, by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani". Fiction Writers Review. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  13. "Marié Heese and Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Win the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize - Africa Region Awards". Sunday Times Books LIVE @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  14. "404 Error - The Society of Authors". www.societyofauthors.org. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  15. "Adaobi Nwaubani: Humorous writer, journalist – Daily Newswatch Newspaper". Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. "Lola Shoneyin, Chika Unigwe and Others Shortlisted for 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature". Sunday Times Books LIVE @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  17. "Holiday Guide 2009: Best Books - The Washington Post". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  18. "Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani - Pulitzer Center". pulitzercenter.org.
  19. "Nigerian anger over S Africa xenophobic attacks". BBC News. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  20. "Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani". Book Series in Order. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

Reviews
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