{{Short description| Nigerian-American writer (born 1981)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}} {{Infobox writer | name = Chinelo Okparanta | image = Chinelo Okparanta 2015 LOC.jpg | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1981}} | birth_place = Port Harcourt, Nigeria | death_date = | occupation = Novelist, short-story writer | nationality = Nigeria; United States | period = 2010s | notableworks = ''Happiness, Like Water'' (2013); ''Under the Udala Trees'' (2015) | alma_mater = {{plainlist}} *Pennsylvania State University *Schreyer Honors College *Rutgers University *Iowa Writers' Workshop {{endplainlist}} | spouse = | website ={{official website|https://www.chinelookparanta.com/}} }} '''Chinelo Okparanta''' {{pronunciation|LL-Q33578 (ibo)-Iwuala Lucy-Chinelo Okparanta.wav}} (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American novelist and short-story writer.<ref>Mythili Rao, [https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/19/chinelo-okparanta-champion-of-the-stifled.html "Chinelo Okparanta: Champion of the Stifled"]. ''The Daily Beast'', August 19, 2013.</ref> She was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where she was raised<ref name=iowa>Rae Winkelstein-Duveneck, [http://www.iowareview.org/blog/religion-bible-and-personal-morality-interview-chinelo-okparanta "Religion, The Bible, and Personal Morality: An Interview with Chinelo Okparanta"], ''The Iowa Review'', March 19, 2013.</ref> until the age of 10, when she immigrated to the United States with her family.<ref>Ligaya Mishan, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/books/review/happiness-like-water-by-chinelo-okparanta.html "How She Left: 'Happiness, Like Water,' by Chinelo Okparanta"] (review), ''The New York Times Book Review'', September 15, 2013.</ref> She grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and in 2012 she was spotlighted as one of ''Granta''’s New Voices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinelo Okparanta {{!}} Bookreporter.com |url=https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/chinelo-okparanta |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=www.bookreporter.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life== Chinelo Okparanta was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and at the age of 10 migrated with her family to the US. She was educated at Pennsylvania State University (Schreyer Honors College), Rutgers University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.<ref name=iowa />
==Career== Okparanta has published short stories in publications including ''Granta'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chinelo Okparanta|url=https://granta.com/contributor/chinelo-okparanta/|website=Granta|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> ''The New Yorker'', ''Tin House'', ''The Kenyon Review'', ''The Southern Review'', ''TriQuarterly'', ''Conjunctions'', ''Subtropics'' and ''The Coffin Factory''. Her essays have appeared in ''Harper’s Bazaar, Literary Hub, AGNI'', The Story Prize blog, and the University of Iowa, International Writing Program blog.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Books to read and see. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta.|url=https://www.coachabilityfoundation.org/post/books-to-read-and-see-under-the-udala-trees-by-chinelo-okparantae281a0|last=Munllonch|first=Montse Domínguez i|date=2019-07-11|website=misitio|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Okparanta has held fellowships or visiting professorships at The University of Iowa, Colgate University, Purdue University, City College of New York, and Columbia University.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Voices in Fiction Reading by Chinelo Okparanta {{!}} UChicago Arts {{!}} The University of Chicago|url=https://arts.uchicago.edu/event/new-voices-fiction-reading-chinelo-okparanta|website=arts.uchicago.edu|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> She was associate professor of English & Creative Writing (Fiction) at Bucknell University, where she was also C. Graydon & Mary E. Rogers Faculty Research Fellow as well as Margaret Hollinshead Ley Professor in Poetry & Creative Writing until 2021. She is currently associate professor of English and Director of the Program in Creative Writing at Swarthmore College.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Swarthmore College Bulletin - Course Catalog. English Literature.|url= https://catalog.swarthmore.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=7&poid=263|access-date=2021-07-07}}</ref>
Her debut short-story collection, ''Happiness, Like Water'' (Granta Books and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was longlisted for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chinelo Okparanta: Interview|url=https://mosaicmagazine.org/chinelo-okparanta-interview/|author-link=Nicole Dennis-Benn|first=Nicole Y. |last=Dennis-Benn|date=2014-07-22|website=Mosaic Literary Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> a finalist for the 2014 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poetry and Prose February 20 {{!}} University of Houston Libraries|url=https://libraries.uh.edu/about/news/poetry-and-prose-february-20/|last=Services|first=UH Libraries Web|date=February 13, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> and won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction.<ref>{{cite news|author=Charles, Ron|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/06/02/lambda-literary-awards/|title=Lambda Awards honor best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 2, 2014}}</ref> She has been nominated for a United States Artists Fellowship<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chinelo Okparanta|url=https://pen.org/user/chinelookparanta/|date=2014-03-07|website=PEN America|language=en|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> and was a finalist for the 2014 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in Literature.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lambda Literary Leadership Archives {{!}} Lambda Literary|date=July 17, 2018 |url=https://www.lambdaliterary.org/team_member_position/lambda-literary-leadership/|language=en|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> Other honors include the 2013 Society of Midland Authors Award (finalist),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Celebrated young author to speak at PSU|url=https://pittstate.edu/news/2014/10/celebrated-young-author-to-speak-at-psu.html|website=pittstate|language=en|date=October 7, 2014|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing (finalist), and more.<ref>{{cite web|author=Brown, Keira|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821121727/http://forbookssake.net/2013/07/16/the-missing-women-of-the-caine-prize/|url=http://forbookssake.net/2013/07/16/the-missing-women-of-the-caine-prize/|title=The Missing Women of the Caine Prize|website=For Books' Sake|date=July 16, 2013|archive-date=August 21, 2013}}</ref>
Her short story "Fairness" was 2014 included in The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, among 20 short stories of this year.<ref>[https://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/ohenry/spotlight/okparanta.html "The O. Henry Prize Stories {{!}} Chinelo Okparanto"], ''Author Spotlight'', Random House.</ref>
''Happiness, Like Water'' was an Editors' Choice for ''The New York Times Book Review'' on September 20, 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mishan|first=Ligaya|date=2013-09-13|title=How She Left|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/books/review/happiness-like-water-by-chinelo-okparanta.html|access-date=2020-05-29|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The collection was also listed as one of ''The Guardian'''s Best African Fiction of 2013,<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Afritorial|last2=Network|first2=part of the Guardian Africa|date=2013-12-17|title=Best African fiction of 2013|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/africa-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie|access-date=2020-05-29|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and in December 2014 was announced as being a finalist for the Nigerian Etisalat Prize for Literature.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Who wins Etisalat Prize for Literature 2014?|first=Prisca |last=Sam-Duru |author2=Princewill Ekwujuru|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/who-wins-etisalat-prize-for-literature-2014/|location=Lagos, Nigeria|date=2015-03-11|newspaper=Vanguard|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref><ref>[http://thenationonlineng.net/new/candidates-announced-etisalat-prize-literature/ "Candidates announced for Etisalat Prize for Literature"], ''The Nation'', December 14, 2014.</ref>. At the peak of Nigerian anti-gay legislation in 2015, Okparanta feared for her life and worried about travelling to the country for the prize ceremony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willie-Okafor |first=Paula |date=2022-12-13 |title=Cover Story: Chinelo Okparanta, Iconic Storyteller of Queer Femininity, on Writing Race and Defying Convention |url=https://opencountrymag.com/cover-story-chinelo-okparanta-gentle-defier/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=Open Country Mag |language=en-US}}</ref>
Her first novel, ''Under the Udala Trees'', was published in 2015. ''The New York Times'' reviewer called Okparanta "a graceful and precise writer",<ref>Carol Anshaw, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/books/review/under-the-udala-trees-by-chinelo-okparanta.html "'Under the Udala Trees,' by Chinelo Okparanta"] (Sunday Book ), ''The New York Times'', October 23, 2015.</ref> and ''The Guardian'' (UK) describes the book as "a gripping novel about a young gay woman's coming of age in Nigeria during the Nigerian civil war..." in which "...Okparanta deftly negotiates a balance between a love story and a war story."<ref>Anjali Enjeti, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/24/under-the-udala-trees-chinelo-okparanta-review "Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta review – love in the time of Biafra"], ''The Guardian'', September 24, 2015.</ref>
''Under the Udala Trees'' was a ''New York Times Book Review'' Editors' Choice<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.telegraph.co.uk/Product/Chinelo-Okparanta/Under-the-Udala-Trees/18045611|title=Under the Udala Trees|date=2015-09-22|isbn=978-0-544-00336-1|language=en-gb|last1=Okparanta |first1=Chinelo |publisher=HarperCollins }}</ref> as well as a nominee for the 2015 ''Kirkus Reviews'' Prize in Fiction.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-2018-national-book-awards-longlist-fiction|last=The New Yorker|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en|date=September 14, 2018|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> One of NPR's "Best Books of 2015", it also made the BuzzFeed, ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Millions'', ''Bustle'', Shelf Awareness, and Publishers Lunch "Best of"<ref>[https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2015/12/favorite-books-of-2015-from-the-news-editors-desk/ Publishers Lunch], Favorite Books of 2015, From the News Editor</ref> and "Most Anticipated" lists, among others. It was long-listed for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize,<ref>{{Cite web|first=Elayne |last=Clift|title= Under the Udala Trees: A Novel|url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/under-udala-trees-novel|website=www.nyjournalofbooks.com|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> nominated for the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Africa's Young Literary Stars|url=https://singlestory.org/africas-young-literary-superstars/|date=2016-08-15|website=The Single Story Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> nominated for the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Fiction,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hurston/Wright Foundation {{!}} Hurston/Wright Foundation Announces 2016 Legacy Awards|date=October 24, 2016 |url=https://www.hurstonwright.org/hurstonwright-foundation-announces-2016-legacy-awards/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> a finalist for the 2016 Publishing Triangle Literary Awards (the Ferro-Grumley Award),<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ferro–Grumley Awards|url=https://publishingtriangle.org/awards/ferro-grumley-awards/|website=The Publishing Triangle|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> a semi-finalist for the 2016 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award,<ref>{{Cite web|title=2016 News {{!}} First Novelist Semifinalists 2016 {{!}} VCU Libraries|url=https://www.library.vcu.edu/about/news/2016-news/2016-vcu-cabell-first-novelist-award-contest-semifinalists-announced.html|website=www.library.vcu.edu|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> long-listed for the 2016 Chautauqua Prize,{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} and won the 2016 Lambda Literary Award in the General Lesbian Fiction category.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Award Winners {{!}} Oakland Public Library|url=https://oaklandlibrary.org/category/tags-readers-advisory-blog/award-winners|website=oaklandlibrary.org|access-date=2020-05-30}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
''Under the Udala Trees'' also won the 2016 Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award in Fiction<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clarke's Books|url=http://www.clarkesbooks.co.za/books/browse/6|website=www.clarkesbooks.co.za|access-date=2020-05-30|archive-date=February 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224075024/http://www.clarkesbooks.co.za/books/browse/6|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was a 2017 Amelia Bloomer Project Selection of the American Library Association.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2018 Permafrost Book Prize in Fiction – Permafrost Magazine|url=https://permafrostmag.uaf.edu/2018-permafrost-book-prize-in-fiction/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> It was also shortlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Under the Udala Trees {{!}} 2017 shortlist!|date=September 3, 2019 |publisher=International Dublin Literary Award|url=https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/books/under-the-udala-trees/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref>
In 2017, Okparanta won the Publishing Triangle's 2016 inaugural Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chinelo Okparanta|url=https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/chinelo-okparanta/|last=York|first=Carnegie Corporation of New|website=Carnegie Corporation of New York|language=en|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref>
''Pulse Nigeria'' named ''Under the Udala Trees'' one of its 10 Outstanding Nigerian Books for 2015.<ref>[http://pulse.ng/books/pulselist-2015-10-outstanding-nigerian-books-for-this-year-id4464207.html "10 outstanding Nigerian books for this year"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423180424/http://pulse.ng/books/pulselist-2015-10-outstanding-nigerian-books-for-this-year-id4464207.html |date=April 23, 2017 }}, ''Pulse'', December 16, 2015.</ref> ''YNaija'' listed it as one of its Ten Most Notable Books of 2015.<ref>Wilfred Okichie, [https://ynaija.com/the-fishermen-blackass-under-the-udala-tree/ "#YNAIJA2015REVIEW: THE FISHERMEN, BLACKASS, UNDER THE UDALA TREE… THE 10 MOST NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2015"], ''YNaija'', December 13, 2015.</ref> ''Afridiaspora'' listed it as one of the Best African Novels of 2015.<ref>Tolu Daniel, [http://www.afridiaspora.com/the-afridiaspora-list-the-best-african-novels-of-2015/ "The Afridiaspora List – The Best African Novels of 2015"], ''Afridiaspora'', December 22, 2015.</ref>
In April 2017, Okparanta was selected by ''Granta'' for their once in a decade Best of Young American Novelists list.<ref>[https://granta.com/issues/best-young-american-novelists-3/ "Granta 139: Best of Young American Novelists 3"], ''Granta'', Spring 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/26/granta-list-best-young-american-novelists "Granta's list of the best young American novelists"], ''The Guardian'', April 26, 2017.</ref>
Her essay "Trump in the Classroom" is included in the 2019 anthology ''New Daughters of Africa'', edited by Margaret Busby.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/new-daughters-africa|title=New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent|journal=New York Journal of Books|first=Anjanette|last=Delgado|date=May 6, 2019}}</ref>
'''Legacy'''
Chinelo Okparanta has been credited for being a champion for marginalized and underprivileged voices throughout her career by the novelist, Helon Habila.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willie-Okafor |first=Paula |date=2022-12-13 |title=Cover Story: Chinelo Okparanta, Iconic Storyteller of Queer Femininity, on Writing Race and Defying Convention |url=https://opencountrymag.com/cover-story-chinelo-okparanta-gentle-defier/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=Open Country Mag |language=en-US}}</ref>
Okparanta’s three books, “Happiness Like Water,” “Under the Udala Tree,” and her most recent, “Harry Sylvester Bird” have championed the stories of LGBTQ community and people of color through local insider perspective and interracial outsider perspectives.
The most notable thing about Okparanta is that began writing about these demographics in the time when it was dangerous to do so especially from around Nigeria. Her courage in telling her story is a contrast from her gentle and retreating personality, hence in a [https://opencountrymag.com/cover-story-chinelo-okparanta-gentle-defier/ profile] on the [https://opencountrymag.com Open Country Magazine] by Paula Willie-Okafor, Okparanta was tagged, “The Gentle Defier.”
Zimbabwean Novelist, NoViolet Bulawayo considers Okparanta,{{blockquote|“…a formidable force.” In her words, “She [Okparanta] doesn’t tell easy stories, she tells necessary, even earth-shifting ones—the initial reception of ''Under the Udala Trees'' is a good case of the impact of her work. We know a writer is actually doing their job right when they make people lose their shit. They are also doing an even more important job when they make others possible. In choosing to tell humanizing stories that defied the literary trends and silence around African queer life, Chinelo became an important part of the reason why we are today in a position to celebrate the flourishing of writing that rightly holds African queerness to the sun.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willie-Okafor |first=Paula |date=2022-12-13 |title=Cover Story: Chinelo Okparanta, Iconic Storyteller of Queer Femininity, on Writing Race and Defying Convention |url=https://opencountrymag.com/cover-story-chinelo-okparanta-gentle-defier/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Open Country Mag |language=en-US}}</ref>}}
==Bibliography== * ''Happiness, Like Water'' (collection of short stories), 2013 * ''Under the Udala Trees'' (novel), 2015 * ''Harry Sylvester Bird'' (novel), 2022<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whittaker |first=Nicholas |date=2022-07-12 |title='Harry Sylvester Bird' Is a Satire of Antiracist Art |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/books/review/chinelo-okparanta-harry-sylvester-bird.html |access-date=2023-07-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* A Granta Best of Young American Novelist * Finalist for the 2017 International Dublin Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-12 |title=Chinelo Okparanta, Mia Couto and Jose Eduardo Agualusa Shortlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award |url=https://brittlepaper.com/2017/04/chinelo-okparanta-mia-couto-eduardo-agualusa-shortlisted-2017-dublin-international-literary-award/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=Brittle Paper |language=en-US}}</ref> * 2017 Carnegie Corporation of New York Great Immigrant Award * Finalist for the NAACP Image Award, "Outstanding Literary Work—Fiction" * Finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award * Finalist for the Caine Prize * Finalist for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative * Finalist for the Etisalat Prize * Winner for the 2014 PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories (“Fairness”) * Winner of the 2016 Inaugural Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award from The Publishing Triangle * Winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for General Lesbian Fiction * Winner of the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for General Lesbian Fiction<ref>{{Cite web |last=Igual |first=Roberto |date=2016-06-10 |title=Nigerian author wins international award for lesbian fiction |url=https://mamba.lgbt/2016/06/10/nigerian-author-wins-international-award-lesbian-fiction/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online |language=en-US}}</ref> * Winner of the 2016 Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award in Fiction<ref>{{Cite web |title=2018 Permafrost Book Prize in Fiction |url=https://www.uaf.edu/permafrostmag/news-and-interviews/2018-fiction-book-prize.php |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=www.uaf.edu |language=en}}</ref> * Semifinalist for the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize * Semifinalist for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== *{{cite journal|title=Chinelo Okparanta|journal=Current Biography|date=August 8, 2016|volume=77}} by Christopher Mari, {{ISSN|0011-3344}} pp. 73–77 *{{cite journal|last1=Igarashi|first1=Yuka|title=Chihelo Okaparanta Interview|journal=Granta|date=February 2, 2012|url=https://granta.com/interview-chinelo-okparanta/}}
==External links== * [https://www.chinelookparanta.com/ Official website] * Boen Wang, [https://www.collegian.psu.edu/arts_and_entertainment/article_1351c332-65e1-11e4-afca-0017a43b2370.html "Penn State alumna Okparanta reads short stories at Foster"], ''Daily Collegian'', November 7, 2014. * [https://schreyer.psu.edu/documents/admissions/viewbook.pdf] * [http://shortstorydayafrica.org/news/bu1uj35esam4h653otz2xdwuw6l5hl "'Everyone Should Be An Artist, I Think.' An Interview With Chinelo Okparanta"], ''Short Story Day Africa'', March 23, 2016. * Sarah Ládípọ̀ Manyika, [http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-nigerian-american-writer-who-takes-on-taboos/82567?variable=f01464e026262258b95a9c3d01827c45 "The Nigerian-American Writer Who Takes On Taboos"], OZY.com, December 19, 2017. * [https://munyori.org/interviews/chinelo-okparanta/ "Emmanuel Sigauke Interviews Chinelo Okparanta"], ''Munyori Literary Journal'', 2013 * [https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-544-00344-6 Under the Udala trees], summary, ''Publishers Weekly'', 2015 * Melissa Mordi, [https://guardian.ng/life/chinelo-okparanta-the-power-of-women-writing-and-writing-women/ "Chinelo Okparanta - the Power of Women, Writing and Writing Women"] (interview), ''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 11 March 2019.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okparanta, Chinelo}} Category:1981 births Category:21st-century American novelists Category:21st-century American short story writers Category:21st-century American women novelists Category:21st-century Nigerian novelists Category:21st-century Nigerian women writers Category:American women short story writers Category:American women satirists Category:American satirical novelists Category:Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Category:Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction winners Category:Living people Category:Nigerian emigrants to the United States Category:Nigerian short story writers Category:Nigerian women novelists Category:Nigerian women short story writers Category:Pennsylvania State University alumni Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:Southern New Hampshire University faculty Category:Writers from Port Harcourt Category:Nigerian satirical novelists Category:21st-century American women academics Category:21st-century American academics