Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(1977 – )
Novelist
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, also known by her pen name, Amanda N. Adichie, is a prolific writer She has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in African History from Yale University. She was awarded a Hodder fellowship at Princeton University for the 2005-2006 academic year, and a fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard University for the 2011-2012 academic year. In 2008, she received a MacArthur Fellowship.
She has received honorary doctorate degrees from Eastern Connecticut State University, Johns Hopkins University, Haverford College, Williams College, the University of Edinburgh, Duke University, Amherst College, Bowdoin College, SOAS University of London, American University, Georgetown University, Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Northwestern University.
Adichie was born in the city of Enugu in Nigeria, the fifth of six children in an Igbo family. She was raised in the university town of Nsukka in Enugu State. While she was growing up, her father, James Nwoye Adichie (1932–2020) worked as a professor of statistics at the University of Nigeria. They lived in a house on campus previously occupied by famous author Chinua Achebe.
Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, published when she was only 26, was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker; she won the 2006 Orange prize for Half of a Yellow Sun; was awarded a MacArthur fellowship – the so-called genius grant – and her work is now a fixture on American school reading lists.
Motivational Quote:
Feminism is not the starchy thing where you have to be a certain way. It’s not about being angry, and it isn’t about whether you wear makeup or not. It simply means that you believe that men and women are equal and you want to work for it.
5 Success Lessons
to learn from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Reject likeability.
- Fighting for equality matters.
- Storytelling is important; start telling stories about your world.
- All humans are flawed; have compassion.
- Don’t let anyone silence you.
Sources: chimamanda.com Wikipedia.org
