Black History Month: Nnedi Okorafor
Happy Friday! For today’s Black History Month post, I’d like to introduce you to a writer who jumps back and forth between media as easily as other people switch from jackets to coats in winter. Let’s talk about:
Author Nnedi Okorafor. Photo credit: Neilson Barnard/ Getty Images/ nnedi.com
In ancient times, before the internet, I used to find new authors by buying and reading anthologies. I discovered Nnedi Okorafor in an anthology of Black speculative fiction. Her short story stayed with me because the main character broke the fourth wall at the end to speak directly to the reader. Years later, I found one of her novels, and found she’s also a great world-builder who believes there are Black people in the future.
Cover of “Binti” by Nnedi Okorafor (via Nnedi.com)
Besides novels, she’s written comic books — ones she’s created, as well as writing three Black Panther comic series for Marvel. A few things I like about Okorafor’s work:
Did I mention ‘Black people in the future’ yet? And they’re not just sidekicks or Magical Negroes
She’s prolific: 16 books that I know of, so I’m not going to run out of material anytime soon
Most of her characters are modern-day or future Nigerians, so I get to read about Black people outside of North America.
I’m hoping Okorafor’s work will make it to the screen: HBO is developing a series based on Who Fears Death, and another company is developing the Binti series. Not expecting either of them anytime soon, though. Who Fears Death has been sitting at HBO since 2017, even though George R.R. Martin (the Game of Thrones author) and actress Tessa Thompson were supposed to be involved. Hulu has optioned Binti, but then the pandemic struck. Somebody needs to get these productions back on track.
Next week, we’ll take a look at some of my favorite provocateurs. See you Monday for another post on Black artists who inspire me.
