Rising Stars

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ & Chibundu Onuzo

  • 11
  • Oct

2017

Wednesday

6.30pm

Image of Chibundu Onuzo in a bright red dress, sitting in a leather armchairBlayke Images


Come and hear two of Nigeria’s most exciting young authors read and discuss their bittersweet novels. Born in Lagos, Chibundu Onuzo is currently completing a PhD at King’s College London. Her debut, The Spider King’s Daughter, won a Betty Trask Award and was described by The Times as ‘a dark, tense, gripping first novel, peeling back layers of Nigerian society.’ Her new novel, Welcome to Lagos, is a powerful and provocative story about five runaways who ride the bus from Bayelsa to the megacity in search of a better life.

Shortlisted for the 2017 Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s debut, Stay With Me, also captures the energy, voices, joys and tensions of her homeland. Brilliantly paced, it explores the complexities of marriage, motherhood, family and grief against the social and political turbulence of 80s Nigeria. Championed as ‘an astounding storyteller’ by Jennifer Makumbi, Ayọ̀bámi was born in Lagos and currently works as a fiction editor for Saraba magazine. Hosted by Anita Sethi.