Irenosen Iseghohi Okojie

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

is a Nigerian-born short story and novel writer working in London. Her stories incorporate speculative elements and also make use of her West African heritage. Her first novel, ''

Butterfly Fish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atla ...

'' won a

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

in 2016, and her story ''

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

'' won the 2020 Caine Prize for African Writing. She was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

in 2018.

Biography

Early years and education

Irenosen Okojie was born in Nigeria. When she was eight her family moved to United Kingdom. Okojie attended

Gresham's Gresham's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free gr ...

, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in Holt, Norfolk, before going on to St Angela's Convent School in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and then to Stamford Boarding School for girls. Okojie returned to London to complete her education and then attended London Metropolitan University, where she studied Communications and Visual Culture.

Career

Okojie is an Arts Project Manager and Curator based in London. Her debut novel, ''Butterfly Fish'', won a

in 2016. Her writing has been published in '' The New York Times'', '' The Observer'', '' The Guardian'', the '' BBC'' and the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', and she is a contributor to the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', 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' ...

. Okojie has received nominations for a number of awards and she has been a judge for other literary competitions. Her 2016 collection of short stories, ''Speak Gigantular'', was shortlisted for the 2016 inaugural Jhalak Prize as well as the 2017 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her story ''Animal Parts'' was nominated for a 2016 Shirley Jackson Award, and her short story ''Synsepalum'' was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to celebrate the BBC National Short Story Award 2018. Also in 2018, Okojie was elected as a Fellow of the

. On 19 May 2020, she was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing, and was announced as the winner on 27 July 2020 for her story ''Grace Jones''. Okojie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to literature.

Honours and awards

* 2016:

(for ''Butterfly Fish'') * 2018: Elected a Fellow of the

* 2020: winner of AKO Caine Prize for African Writing (with ''

'')

Bibliography

* ''Speak Gigantular'' (short stories), Jacaranda Books 2016 * ''

'' (novel), Jacaranda Books 2016 * '' Nudibranch'',

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

2019

References and sources

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okojie, Irenosen Living people Alumni of London Metropolitan University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Year of birth missing (living people) Nigerian women novelists Black British women writers Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers English women novelists Nigerian novelists English novelists Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People educated at Gresham's School Caine Prize winners