Okorafor set to release debut nonfiction book

Nigerian-American science fiction writer, Nnedi Okorafor is set to release her first nonfiction book titled, ‘Broken Places & Outer Spaces’. The book, which is scheduled to be released in June this year, is published by Simon & Schuster/ TED. In the book, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the ‘Binti’ trilogy and ‘Akata Witch’ […]

Nigerian-American science fiction writer, Nnedi Okorafor is set to release her first nonfiction book titled, ‘Broken Places & Outer Spaces’.

The book, which is scheduled to be released in June this year, is published by Simon & Schuster/ TED.

In the book, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the ‘Binti’ trilogy and ‘Akata Witch’ looks back at how travels in her youth and a traumatic incident during her teen years shaped her creative life, particularly her love of science fiction and the fantastic.

The synopsis on the publisher’s website reads: “Nnedi Okorafor was never supposed to be paralyzed. A college track star and budding entomologist, Nnedi’s lifelong battle with scoliosis was just a bump in her plan-something a simple operation would easily correct. But when Nnedi wakes from the surgery to find she can’t move her legs, her entire sense of self begins to waver. Confined to a hospital bed for months, unusual things begin to happen. Psychedelic bugs crawl her hospital walls; strange dreams visit her nightly. Nnedi begins to put these experiences into writing, conjuring up strange, fantastical stories. What Nnedi discovers during her confinement would prove to be the key to her life as a successful science fiction author: In science fiction, when something breaks, something greater often emerges from the cracks.”

Okorafor is an award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism. Born in the US to Nigerian immigrant parents, Okorafor is known for weaving African cultures into creative settings and memorable characters. Her book, ‘Who Fears Death’ has been optioned by HBO, with ‘Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin as executive producer. Okorafor is a full-time professor at the University at Buffalo, New York (SUNY).