Ben Okri

Ben Okri is a highly acclaimed author, born in Minna, Nigeria, on March 15, 1959. He is a member of the Urhobo people through his father, Silver, and has Igbo heritage from his mother, Grace. Okri spent his early years in London before returning to Nigeria with his family in 1968. The political violence he witnessed during the Nigerian civil war significantly influenced his early fiction.

After completing his education in Nigeria, Okri received a grant from the Nigerian government to study Comparative Literature at Essex University in England. He served as poetry editor for West Africa magazine from 1983 to 1986 and regularly contributed to BBC World Service broadcasts during the same period. In 1991, Okri became a Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge, a position he held until 1993. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1987 and has been awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Westminster (1997) and Essex (2002).

Okri's literary career began with his first two novels, "Flowers and Shadows" (1980) and "The Landscapes Within" (1981), both set in Nigeria and exploring the disintegration and chaos experienced by young men in their families and country. His short story collections, "Incidents at the Shrine" (1986) and "Stars of the New Curfew" (1988), are set in Lagos and London. In 1991, Okri won the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel "The Famished Road," which is the first in a trilogy about Azaro, a spirit child. The series includes "Songs of Enchantment" (1993) and "Infinite Riches" (1998). Okri has also published poetry, essays, plays, and a collection of tales in "Tales of Freedom" (2009). He is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN, a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre, and was awarded an OBE in 2001. Okri currently resides in London.