Though American-born, Nnedi’s muses continues to be Nigeria and the greater Africa. Because she grew up wanting to be an entomologist and even after becoming a writer maintained her love of insects and nature as a whole, her work is always filled with startling vivid flora and fauna.

Because she used to play semi-pro tennis and competed in the long jump, high jump, 400M, and hurdles she finds it easy to imagine people who can fly, read minds, and have super-human strength. And because Octavia Butler, Stephen King, Philip Pullman, Tove Jansson, Hayao Miyazaki, and Ngugi wa Thiong’o are her greatest influences, her work tends to be on the creative side.

Nnedi's books include Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the 2008 Wole Soyinka Africa Prize for Literature), The Shadow Speaker (An NAACP Image Award Nominee) and Long Juju Man (winner of the Macmillan Prize for Africa). Her novels Who Fears Death (DAW) and Akata Witch (Penguin) and chapter book, Iridessa and the Fire-Bellied Dragon Frog (Disney Press), are scheduled for release in 2010.

Contact Information:
Email: nnedimma@gmail.com
Website: http://www.nnedi.com