Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian novelist and poet whose genre-fluid fiction has become a defining voice of the twenty-first century. Debut novels like Freshwater and works such as You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty place queer, Igbo and diasporic experience at the centre of stories that refuse simple category.

Born in Umuahia and raised in Nigeria, Emezi identifies as a non-binary, trans and ogbanje person, themes that pulse through their work. Major critical acclaim — including Booker nominations — has confirmed Emezi's place among the most original storytellers writing today.