I’m not sure my trajectory fitted the perceived profile of an African author. I was born in Nigeria but… — Chioma Okereke
I’m not sure my trajectory fitted the perceived profile of an African author. I was born in Nigeria but raised in the UK. My origin story wasn’t compelling or perhaps ‘ethnic/diverse’ enough. I also didn’t really have many publishing credits early on, so there were many years of ‘no’s before I found my first agent, and very swiftly after that (within months) I received two offers for my debut Bitter Leaf.
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More from this book
I like to make time to write in the mornings. That way, you have banked your words for the day and typical distractions that happen throughout the course of a day are less likely to interfere with your progress. I also find setting a daily word limit really encourages me to try and keep pushing to meet that goal. At the end of the day, it’s all about having that rough draft that you can polish into something better!
I was captivated by the atmospheric settings portrayed in the documentary, witnessing an American navigating through Makoko sparked a realisation of my ignorance, prompting extensive research about the community. It was during this process that the character of Baby emerged vividly in my mind, compelling me to tell her story.
At some early stage in school, I figured out that it was hard to get a bad grade in English, especially where poetry was concerned because it was about expressing yourself! However, I ultimately cultivated some enjoyment from it and from writing short stories to entertain my friends. I was also a voracious reader so my interest in storytelling undoubtedly grew from there.
