Series Editor Jenny Minton Quigley on celebrating the short story form and the ripple effect of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s guest-editing role.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
Otosirieze Obi-Young
Otosirieze Obi-Young, a writer, culture journalist, curator, and media consultant, is the founder and editor of Open Country Mag. He was editor of Folio Nigeria, CNN’s exclusive media affiliate in Africa, and has led or joined editorial teams at a host of platforms and projects in African literature. He has written about the Nigerian culture scene, covering innovation in over 20 fields including art, music, tech, sports, cuisine, fashion, journalism, sculpture, beauty, health, and activism. In literature, his Profile subjects have included Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, Damon Galgut, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Maaza Mengiste. His fiction has appeared in The Threepenny Review and Transition. He sat on the judging panel of The Morland Scholarship, a British grant for African writers, and currently chairs the panel of The Gerald Kraak Prize, a South African initiative for storytelling about gender, sexuality, and social justice. He has an MA in African Studies and a BA in English and History from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He taught English at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu. He is currently studying for an MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In 2019, he received the inaugural The Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature. In 2020, he was named among “The 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians” by Avance Media. Twitter & Instagram: @otosirieze. Website: otosirieze.com.
All Work by Otosirieze Obi-Young
“I have always looked for validation for my short stories,” he said of the recognition from the Iowa City bookshop.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
The Nigerian novelist’s debut Such a Beautiful Thing to Behold is forthcoming on May 1, from Little A.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
For many writers and artists in the continent, the Motswana shaman, poet, scriptwriter, editor, and interviewer is a go-to for deep conversations. What she does is “about consciousness,” going “into the realm of memory.”
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
The editor of Doek!, author of The Eternal Audience of One, and Commonwealth Prize winner is leading a charge to place his country on the literary map.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
The lawyer and the doctor on podcasting, documenting South Africa’s Black voices, and getting African literature its own due.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
Originally planned for December 2021, to mark our first anniversary, our first special issue, for April 2022, profiles 16 African writers and curators who have impacted, disrupted, reshaped, and even created literary culture in the last five years. This landmark moment comes in two Parts, with two covers.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
The “joyful and tender” Mama’s Sleeping Scarf, forthcoming from HarperCollins Children’s Books, was written when her daughter was 3 years old.
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
Adichie, who guest-edited the 2021 anthology and is winning for the third time, was selected for her story “Zikora.”
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
“My mission,” said the Nigerian American poet, “is to continue giving a space for both emerging writers, international writers, and writers negotiating themselves between multiple languages.”
By Otosirieze Obi-Young
