Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi is a Nigerian-American writer whose debut book, "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions," garnered critical acclaim upon its release in 2022. The intergenerational story collection was named a New York Times Editors' Choice, included in The New Yorker's "Best Books of 2022 So Far," and selected for Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club. Her earlier short fiction earned recognition as a 2009 PEN/Studzinski Award finalist and appeared in publications such as "New Writing from Africa 2009," Ploughshares, and The Best American Short Stories 2018, while her poetry has been featured in the Massachusetts Review and Wasafiri.
Born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, Ogunyemi holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in computer science from Barnard College and the University of Pennsylvania. She balances her literary career with academic work as a Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where she researches biomedical informatics applications for health equity. Her writing often explores themes of cultural identity, displacement, and social justice through nuanced storytelling that bridges her Nigerian heritage and American experiences.
Now based in California, Ogunyemi continues to write while maintaining her dual career in medicine and literature. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" remains her most prominent published work to date, also earning a spot on the Los Angeles Public Library's "Best of 2022: Fiction" list. Her background in both STEM and the humanities informs her distinctive narrative voice, which merges technical precision with lyrical prose.