Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi (born 1987, Umuahia, Nigeria) is an lgbo and Tamil writer and video artist, best known for their debut novel Freshwater. 2Personal Life Growing up in Aba, Nigeria, Emezi and their sister Yagazie used storytelling to escape the riots, dictatorship, and dangerous reality of their childhoods. Emezi began writing short stories when they were five years old. They received their MPA from New York University.Emezi uses the personal pronouns they/them/theirs. 2Freshwater Freshwater tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, Ada, who is an ogbanje. Emezi explores their Igbo heritage's spirituality and gender alongside those of Western construction and invites their audience to think critically about this spirit/body binary.Reception The New Yorker called Freshwater "a startling début novel"; The Guardian called it "a remarkable debut"; and the LA Times called it "dazzling". Freshwater was longlisted for numerous significant awards. Freshwater was a New York Times Notable Book, was named a Best Book of the Year by the New Yorker and NPR. and was called a New York Times Notable Book. Emezi is also recognized as a 2018 National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree.In 2019, Freshwater was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction — the first time a non-binary transgender author has been nominated for the prize. Kate Williams, the chair of the judges, called it a "historic moment