Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi (* 1987 in Umuahia , Nigeria ) is of Nigerian nationality with Igbo - Tamil origins and became famous in 2018 with the debut novel Freshwater (in German: Süßwasser ), which won the Otherwise Award for 2019. Emezi identifies as a transgender and non-binary person.

life and work

Akwaeke Emezi grew up in Aba in the Nigerian state of Abia and studied international public policy and nonprofit management in New York, as well as creative writing at Syracuse University from 2014 to 2016 . The debut novel Freshwater , which contains autobiographical elements and is rooted in the cosmology of the Igbo , was published in 2018 and received positive reviews, especially in the USA. The novel was recognized as one of the best books of the year by the non-commercial radio station NPR and the magazine The New Yorker and was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction - the first time that a non-binary person was nominated. The book was published in German translation under the title Süßwasser by Eichborn-Verlag . The German edition was also praised by critics as a “wild and touching novel about the human imagination”.

In 2018, Emezi had her uterus surgically removed ( hysterectomy ).

Emezi's youth novel Pet was published in 2019, and The Death of Vivek Oji in 2020 , both in English. The television station FX is working on the series production of Freshwater. Emezi has lived in New Orleans since 2019 .

Publications

Freshwater. Grove Press, New York 2018, ISBN 978-0-8021-2735-8 (English).
- German: fresh water. Translation from the American by Anabelle Assaf and Senthuran Varatharajah. Eichborn, Frankfurt / M. 2018, ISBN 978-3-8479-0646-9 .
Pet.Faber & Faber, London 2019, ISBN 978-0-571-35511-2 (English).
The Death of Vivek Oji. Riverhead Books, New York 2020, ISBN 978-0-525-54160-8 (English).

Web links

Official website.
Literature by and about Akwaeke Emezi in the catalog of the German National Library .
Short biography and reviews of works by Akwaeke Emezi at perlentaucher.de .
Literature by and about Akwaeke Emezi in the bibliographic database WorldCat (English).

Anne Haeming: A female figure with many voices: “I can't work with such a thin penis”. In: Der Spiegel . 2nd September 2018.
Akwaeke Emezi (text), Harley Weir (photos, video): In Lagos: a visual and literary journey through Nigeria. In: Dazed. April 9, 2018 (English, with video: 7:15 minutes).
Katy Waldman: A Startling Début Novel Explores the Freedom of Being Multiple. In: The New Yorker . February 26, 2018 (English).
Interview by Deesha Philyaw: A Spirit Born into a Human Body: Talking with Akwaeke Emezi. In: theRumpus.net. February 21, 2018 (English).

Individual evidence

↑ Alexis Lothian: Akwaeke Emezi wins 2019 Otherwise Award! In: Otherwiseaward.org. April 11, 2020, accessed on August 30, 2020.
↑ Akwaeke Emezi: Fresh Water. Novel. In: Perlentaucher.de . 2018, accessed on August 30, 2020 (review note on Frankfurter Rundschau).
↑ Akwaeke Emezi: CV. In: Own website. 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 .
↑ Akwaeke Emezi, interviewed by Andrea Gerk: Akwaeke Emezi: “Freshwater” - At home in between. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur . September 7, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .
↑ Marie-Sophie Adeoso: “Freshwater”: We are one and we are many. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . November 8, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .
↑ Recommended books : NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads. In: NPR . 2018, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

^ Katy Waldman: The Best Books of 2018. In: The New Yorker . December 4, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

↑ Giacomo Maihofer: "Fresh water" by Akwaeke Emezi: The spirits that called them. In: Der Tagesspiegel . January 29, 2019, accessed March 2, 2020 .

↑ Akwaeke Emezi: Transition: My surgeries were a bridge across realities, a spirit customizing its vessel to reflect its nature. In: TheCut.com. January 19, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

↑ Akwaeke Emezi: Biography. In: Own website. 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

↑ Joe Otterson: FX to Develop Series Adaptation of Akwaeke Emezi's “Freshwater” With Tamara P. Carter (Exclusive). In: Variety . May 22, 2019, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

↑ Wase Aguele: Descendant of a Deity: an interview with writer Akwaeke Emezi. In: Roundtable. March 11, 2020, accessed April 25, 2020 (American English).

personal data
SURNAME	Emezi, Akwaeke
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Nigerian author
DATE OF BIRTH	1987
PLACE OF BIRTH	Umuahia , Nigeria

[1] Alexis Lothian: Akwaeke Emezi wins 2019 Otherwise Award! In: Otherwiseaward.org. April 11, 2020, accessed on August 30, 2020.

[2] Akwaeke Emezi: Fresh Water. Novel. In: Perlentaucher.de . 2018, accessed on August 30, 2020 (review note on Frankfurter Rundschau).

[3] Akwaeke Emezi: CV. In: Own website. 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

[4] Akwaeke Emezi, interviewed by Andrea Gerk: Akwaeke Emezi: “Freshwater” - At home in between. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur . September 7, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

[5] Marie-Sophie Adeoso: “Freshwater”: We are one and we are many. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . November 8, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

[6] Recommended books : NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads. In: NPR . 2018, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

[7] Katy Waldman: The Best Books of 2018. In: The New Yorker . December 4, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

[8] Giacomo Maihofer: "Fresh water" by Akwaeke Emezi: The spirits that called them. In: Der Tagesspiegel . January 29, 2019, accessed March 2, 2020 .

[9] Akwaeke Emezi: Transition: My surgeries were a bridge across realities, a spirit customizing its vessel to reflect its nature. In: TheCut.com. January 19, 2018, accessed March 2, 2020 .

[10] Akwaeke Emezi: Biography. In: Own website. 2020, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

[11] Joe Otterson: FX to Develop Series Adaptation of Akwaeke Emezi's “Freshwater” With Tamara P. Carter (Exclusive). In: Variety . May 22, 2019, accessed on March 2, 2020 .

[12] Wase Aguele: Descendant of a Deity: an interview with writer Akwaeke Emezi. In: Roundtable. March 11, 2020, accessed April 25, 2020 (American English).