Pemi Aguda
'Pemi Aguda | |
|---|---|
 Aguda at the 2024 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Born | Nigeria |
| Citizenship | Nigerian |
| Education | University of Michigan (MFA) |
| Known for | Ghostroots (2024) |
| Awards | Writivism Short Story Prize O'Henry Prize |
| Website | pemiaguda |
'Pemi Aguda is a Nigerian writer. She received an O'Henry Award in 2022[1] for her short story "Breastmilk" and a second in 2023 for "The Hollow".[2] "Breastmilk" was also shortlisted for the 2024 Caine Prize, an award for short story African writing.[3] Her first book, a short story collection entitled Ghostroots,[4] was finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction.[5] Aguda's novel-in-progress (slated for a 2025 release), The Suicide Mothers, won the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Award.[6][7][8]
Early life and career
[edit]'Pemi Aguda is from Lagos, Nigeria, where she used to work in architecture. In 2015, she won the Writivism Short Story Prize and became the recipient of the first Writivism Stellenbosch University writing residency.[9][10] She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program, where she won a Henfield Prize, a Tyson Prize, and several Hopwood Awards.[11]
Aguda's work has been supported by an Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship, a Juniper Summer Workshop scholarship, and an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellowship.[12] A graduate of the 2019 Clarion Workshop, she was a 2021 Miami Book Fair Fiction Fellow [13]and a 2022 MacDowell Fellow in Literature[14] and a 2023 James Merrill House Fellow.[15] She is currently the Hortense Spillers Assistant Editor at Transition Magazine.[16]
In October 2024, Aguda's debut collection Ghostroots was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.[17]
Works
[edit]Books
- —— (2024). Ghostroots. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9781324065852.
- —— (2025). The Suicide Mothers (hardcover 1st ed.). Little, Brown. ISBN 9780349018270.α
Anthologies
- These Words Expose Us
- Lagos Noir
Notes
[edit]- α Novel to be released on 6 May 2025[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Announcing the Winners of the 2022 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction". Literary Hub. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Groff, Lauren (24 April 2023). "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction". Literary Hub. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "The Caine Prize for African Writing announces its 2024 Shortlist". The Caine Prize for African Writing. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Ghostroots", W. W. Norton & Company.
- ^ Andrews, Meredith (1 October 2024). "2024 National Book Awards Finalists Announced". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Pemi Aguda Wins 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award". Brittle Paper. 18 May 2020.
- ^ Murua, James (12 May 2020). "Pemi Aguda wins UK's Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award 2020". Writing Africa.
- ^ "Home". deborahrogersfoundation.org.
- ^ Miscellaneous (15 July 2015). "Interview - Pemi Aguda - Winner of the 2015 Writivism Short Story Competition". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ Murua, James (31 March 2016). "Pemi Aguda is first Writivism Stellenbosch University writing residency recipient". Writing Africa. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "About". 'Pemi Aguda. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Corea, Nicole (27 February 2020). "Announcing the 2020 Class of Emerging Writer Fellows". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Emerging Writer Fellowships / 2021 Fellows". Miami Book Fair. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Pemi Aguda - MacDowell Fellow in Literature". MacDowell. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "About James Merrill". James Merrill House. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "'Pemi Aguda, Keith Jones, and Enzo Silon Surin | Brookline Booksmith". brooklinebooksmith.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Andrews, Meredith (1 October 2024). "2024 National Book Awards Finalists Announced". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "The Suicide Mothers". Waterstones. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
External links
[edit]
Quotations related to Pemi Aguda at Wikiquote
