Melatu Uche Okorie (born 1975) is a Nigerian-born Irish author and member of the Arts Council of Ireland. Her 2018 short story collection, ''This Hostel Life'', was shortlisted for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year award at the Irish Book Awards, and adapted into an operatic work by the

Irish National Opera The Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in 2017 and launched in January 2018. The new entity continues the tradition of the former Opera Ireland (), Ireland's first permanent natio ...

Early life and education

Melatu Uche Okorie was born in 1975 in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

, Nigeria. She grew up in a household with her mother and several siblings, and obtained a degree in English before leaving Nigeria. Okorie moved to Ireland in 2006 with her infant daughter and lived in the direct provision system, which was when she began writing. Okorie obtained an Mphil in creative writing from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and is studying for a PhD in the college of Education.

Writing

In 2009, Okorie won the Metro Éireann Writing Award for the story "Gathering Thoughts". Okorie's first book, '' This Hostel Life'', was published by Skein Press in Ireland in May 2018. The book features an invented Nigerian pidgin English

patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or ...

. It was launched at the International Literature Festival, where Okorie discussed the migrant experience with

Nikesh Shukla Nikesh Shukla (born 8 July 1980) is a British author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays ''The Good Immigrant'', which features contributions from Ri ...

. ''This Hostel Life'' was bought by

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on Feminism, feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several Briti ...

in 2019, and adapted into an operatic work by the

. Her work has been published in ''LIT Journal'', ''College Green Magazine'', and ''Dublin: Ten Journeys One Destination, Alms on the Highway''. In 2019, Okorie was interviewed about her writing practice by Laureate for Irish Fiction,

Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...

. The same year, ''Yes, We Still Drink Coffee!'' was published. This is a collection of works by female writers including Okorie, Catherine Dunne, Hilary Fannin,

Lia Mills Lia Mills is an Irish writer. She writes novels, short stories and literary non-fiction. She has also worked on several public art commissions and as an arts consultant. Her first novel, ''Another Alice'' (1996), was nominated for ''The Irish ...

and

Sheila O'Flanagan Sheila O'Flanagan (born 1958 in Dublin) is a fiction writer and journalist who writes for ''The Irish Times''. Biography She was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her career started in financial services at the Central Bank of Ireland and was in time prom ...

who were paired with activists.

Advocacy

Okorie is a board member of the National Network of Migrant Women in Ireland, and is a creative writing workshop facilitator for children and young people.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, '' This Hostel Life'' was nominated for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year award at the Irish Book Awards. In 2019, Okorie was appointed to the Arts Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okorie, Melatu Uche 1975 births Living people Writers from Enugu Writers from Dublin (city) 21st-century Irish writers 21st-century Irish women writers Irish fiction writers 21st-century Nigerian writers 21st-century Nigerian women writers Nigerian emigrants to Ireland