Imbolo Mbue (born 1981) is a Cameroonian-American novelist and short-story writer based in New York City. She is known for her debut novel '' Behold the Dreamers'' (2016), which has garnered her the

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Award. Her works draw from her own experiences as an immigrant, as well as the experiences of other immigrants.

Early life and education

Mbue was born in 1981 in Limbe, Cameroon, in the English speaking region of the country, where she was raised until the family sponsored her higher education studies in the United States. After completing her undergraduate and graduate studies, she began a job in marketing for a media company, which she lost during the recession. During this period of time, Mbue observed the difference in classes while walking through New York City, where she observed cab drivers who were predominantly black, waiting to drive executives. This formed the basis of her novel '' Behold the Dreamers'' (2016). Mbue's writing, particularly ''Behold the Dreamers'', seeks to explore topics regarding the complexity of American immigration policies and achievements, and overall, the pursuance of the American Dream. According to Mbue, the novel connects the characters' experiences and feelings with those of her own: financial struggles, hopelessness, reevaluation of one's goals, and struggles as an immigrant. She has stressed the importance of literature providing empathy, which she feels is lacked in immigration policies and overall politics. Her 2020 novel ''How Beautiful We Were'' takes on the environmental crisis in Africa, caused by corporate greed. Mbue became an American citizen in 2014, and currently lives in New York City with her husband and children.

Career and ''Behold the Dreamers''

Mbue came to the United States in 1998 to study business management as an undergraduate student at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. After graduating in 2002, she went on to complete her M.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, in 2006. She began to work in the corporate sector in New York City, but lost her job as did millions of Americans during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. In 2014, she signed a million-dollar deal with

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

for her debut book ''Behold the Dreamers'', which was published in 2016. The novel garnered critical acclaim for, according to NPR, the way it "depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American." According to the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''s Ron Charles, as the book's release coincided with the 2016 presidential election, paired with the "anti-immigrant" rhetoric that was brought to light by candidates and their supporters, the novel brought to light the "vast bureaucracy designed to wall off the American Dream from outsiders". In 2017, the novel was selected by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

for her book club. Mbue is a contributor to the anthology ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'' (edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

, 2019).Otosirieze Obi-Young
"Margaret Busby-Edited Anthology to Feature 200 Female Writers Including Adichie, Aminatta Forna, Bernadine Evaristo, Imbolo Mbue, Warsan Shire, Zadie Smith"
''

Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctoral ...

'', 10 January 2018.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Behold the Dreamers'', 2016, ** ''Voici venir les rêveurs'' (French translation), 2016, ** ''Das geträumte Land'' (German translation), 2017, *''How Beautiful We Were'', 2021, **''Puissions-nous vivre longtemps'', (French translation Catherine Gilbert), Éditions Belfond, 2021

Short fiction

;Stories

References

External links

Official website

"Oprah Talks to Behold the Dreamers Author Imbolo Mbue"
Oprah.com, 26 June 2017.
"Imbolo Mbue Interview: Everybody Has a Story"
Video interview by Marc-Christoph Wagner, New York, October 2016. * Jane Ciabattari
"Imbolo Mbue on the Post-Colonial Greed of the Oil Industry"
''

Literary Hub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conten ...

'', 16 March 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbue, Imbolo 1981 births Living people 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women essayists American women novelists Cameroonian emigrants to the United States Cameroonian women novelists The New Yorker people PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners People from Southwest Region (Cameroon)