Nostr notes by Nnedi Okorafor

I keep…sigh…my work is africanfuturism. Not afrofuturism. I ...

2026-10-10T04:21:14Z

I keep…sigh…my work is africanfuturism. Not afrofuturism. I do not write afrofuturism. The distinction matters. I have been explaining this since 2019. Over and over.

This is about my cultural background/foreground (something I write from within!!) and not erasing it. I took the time to write an essay defining it. I have done all I can do. At some point, people need to do their part and understand that there is cultural diversity out there and it is part of The Work.

Space cats on Caturday. ...

2026-09-27T01:49:37Z

Space cats on Caturday.

Neptune Onyedike has his own solar panels. Perfect, since we live ...

2026-08-24T00:33:01Z

Neptune Onyedike has his own solar panels. Perfect, since we live in Phoenix. 🌞🐱🐦‍🔥

been a while since i posted here. i've been working on a new ...

2026-08-01T06:24:14Z

been a while since i posted here. i've been working on a new novel. 🪶

Was out for my walk near the mountain and the road was closed to ...

2026-07-05T03:35:58Z

Was out for my walk near the mountain and the road was closed to cars. So no one was around…and the coyotes came early. I heard this and turned right around, 😆. They usually don’t go for humans, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Mountain lions are out there too.

Best to leave it to them today. 🏜️

Random thoughts: It's so sad that there are no photos of the ...

2026-07-04T23:44:13Z

Random thoughts:

It's so sad that there are no photos of the dodo bird.

And humankind did that bird such wrong.

Look what I get to take home, 🥰. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR won the ...

2026-06-01T17:04:10Z

Look what I get to take home, 🥰. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and THE SPACE CAT won for Best Illustrated and Art Book. My daughter Anyaugo was there with me 😊.

What an amazing night.

Yesterday, I returned to University of Illinois, Chicago to ...

2026-05-11T00:49:48Z

Yesterday, I returned to University of Illinois, Chicago to deliver the commencement speech for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 🎓✨

As an alum who earned both her Master’s and PhD there, returning in this way felt...surreal. TEN THOUSAND people were in that space.

Hell of a milestone.

DEATH OF THE AUTHOR and THE SPACE CAT are both 2026 Hugo Award ...

2026-04-23T20:39:25Z

DEATH OF THE AUTHOR and THE SPACE CAT are both 2026 Hugo Award finalists. Still traveling, 😉. Thank you for reading.

Full lists here: https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2026-hugo-awards/

I’m a 2026 Locus Award finalist THREE times. 😲 1. The most ...

2026-04-15T23:19:19Z

I’m a 2026 Locus Award finalist THREE times. 😲

1. The most personal novel I’ve ever written.
2. A graphic novel I co-created with the incredible Tana Ford.
3. The anthology that came out of my 1st foray into editing.
Different corners of The Work. Same fire. I'm honored that this was noticed. 😌

Full list: https://locusmag.com/2026/04/2026-top-ten-finalists-for-locus-awards/

Today was amazing and I’m too exhausted to post about it (I’m ...

2026-02-08T05:01:28Z

Today was amazing and I’m too exhausted to post about it (I’m in Los Angeles).

However, here’s a magnificent creature of a clock I saw before the event (yes, its pendulum was swinging 🕰️🦄):

All 4 of my 2025 works made Locus Magazine’s Recommended ...

2026-02-02T17:36:08Z

All 4 of my 2025 works made Locus Magazine’s Recommended Reading list, 🥰.

Science Fiction:
DEATH OF THE AUTHOR
ONE WAY WITCH (though this novella is more fantasy than SF, heh)

Illustrated Art & Books:
THE SPACE CAT

Anthologies:
THE BEST AMERICAN SF & FANTASY 2025

Full lists and link to vote here: https://locusmag.com/2026/02/2025-recommended-reading/

My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a nominee for an NAACP Image ...

2026-01-15T05:48:49Z

My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a nominee for an NAACP Image Award, 🥰. Amazing. I'm so honored. #Africanfuturism

Full list of all categories here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2026-naacp-image-awards-nominations-1236468581/

My novel NOOR was an answer in the New York Times Crossword ...

2025-12-27T16:31:25Z

My novel NOOR was an answer in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle, 😃. #Africanfuturism FTW. 🇳🇬

My publisher gifted me with this special edition of DEATH OF THE ...

2025-12-14T02:38:07Z

My publisher gifted me with this special edition of DEATH OF THE AUTHOR as a Christmas present, 🥹. It looks like one of the classic tomes in the bookcase at my parents' house. I read MOBY DICK because it was leatherbound like this one.

Next year, I’m doing the Terry Lectureship at Yale in ...

2025-12-13T01:48:03Z

Next year, I’m doing the Terry Lectureship at Yale in March/April. It’s a century-old lecture series that’s hosted some truly heavyweight thinkers. Wild to be stepping onto that stage 😅 https://philosophy.yale.edu/events/2026-03-31-terry-lectureship-nnedi-okorafor

…And now my novel has landed on BookPage’s Best Fiction of ...

2025-11-20T17:42:28Z

…And now my novel has landed on BookPage’s Best Fiction of the Year list. Ha! Look at her flying. ✨

🤖🐬🇳🇬🇺🇸

Full list here: https://www.bookpage.com/best-books/best-fiction/

Publishers Weekly has named my novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR a Best ...

2025-10-25T22:24:16Z

Publishers Weekly has named my novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR a Best Book of the Year, 😃🇳🇬🇺🇸🤖🦿🐬.

Full list here: https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2025/sf-fantasy-horror#book/book-1

The literary giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (and one of my ...

2025-05-28T23:28:31Z

The literary giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (and one of my favorite authors) has passed. 😔

Wizard of the Crow is a masterpiece. He has many greats.

I'm glad I got to meet him a few times (I always encouraged him to write a science fiction novel...he said he'd consider it).

One signed and adorned copy of DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is up for ...

2025-05-09T16:23:45Z

One signed and adorned copy of DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is up for auction as part of The Genre Creators for Trans Rights in the UK and SA.

*If you're like me and need the abbreviations typed out, 😆: The United Kingdom and South Africa.

https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/128726/auctions/181943/auction_items/6206960

My new novella ONE WAY WITCH (book 2 in the SHE WHO KNOWS ...

2025-05-03T16:07:08Z

My new novella ONE WAY WITCH (book 2 in the SHE WHO KNOWS trilogy, released on April 29th) is an Amazon Editor’s Pick. 😊

It’s a novella about a middle-aged Africanfuturist witch coming into her power while reconciling her past. It’s what happened after WHO FEARS DEATH.

Was a lovely panel some nights ago with N.K. Jemisin (Nora, to ...

2025-04-25T23:46:21Z

Was a lovely panel some nights ago with N.K. Jemisin (Nora, to me, 😆), Nghi Vo, and Matthew Kirby as part of the American Writers Museum's American Prophets series. It was at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago (note: I'm from Chicagoland). We discussed religion, deities, and fiction.

My brother Emezie was in the audience. 🥰

This was taken at Seattle University right after my speaking ...

2025-04-12T16:07:35Z

This was taken at Seattle University right after my speaking event there (did a book signing).

Phrases that stood out to me that day: Soft robotics, Philosopher of Trauma, Aficionado of Strange Objects. I left there with a lot to think about.

Me today at the New England Falconry in Vermont (with the ...

2025-04-07T02:44:22Z

Me today at the New England Falconry in Vermont (with the Harris's Hawk) and me last year on April 8th (my birthday) in Dubai, UAE (with the bespectacled owl). This was not planned at all, lol...but I do love raptors.

As the release of book 2 in the SHE WHO KNOWS trilogy approaches ...

2025-04-06T00:43:36Z

As the release of book 2 in the SHE WHO KNOWS trilogy approaches (April 25), let me say some things:

1. I don’t use the word “magic” to describe the mystical elements in this work because I feel the word is reductive and lacks cultural specificity (which matters).

The word also adds a childish, unserious, nonsensical element that I don’t care for when it comes to the stories I’m telling. It muddies the water in aggravating ways. See for yourself. I avoid it.

Won't be checking that Meta database to see how many of my ...

2025-03-21T20:04:25Z

Won't be checking that Meta database to see how many of my works have used to train AI. I have been getting pirated for, like, EVER. Nothing new, nothing I have ever condoned. All I can do is keep being me, evolving, growing and playing. AI cannot catch me. It'll always be ten steps behind.

I’m in the Seattle Aiprort. This chair was on its way to be of ...

2025-01-22T22:03:20Z

I’m in the Seattle Aiprort. This chair was on its way to be of service to someone. 😃🤖🦽 It was very polite and people were very polite to it.

Last night’s event at Changing Hands Bookstore here in AZ was a ...

2025-01-14T14:42:18Z

Last night’s event at Changing Hands Bookstore here in AZ was a great start for DEATH OF THE AUTHOR. So much excitement for this novel. The bookstore sold every copy they had, 😊.

Next stop, Evanston, IL tomorrow. Then Hyde Park, Chicago on Thursday.

Nostr event nevent1qqsvvs34spqm6hkjt0srwzz3fu8eph3pksgnl33xvw078855j6pygggzypt0yae7a77mt5wfasfqj0yqj75hp2kxw7pk8kfkw6wyswk5rqsf22dh54q

2025-01-11T20:53:59Z

I’ve stopped correcting the typo “Untied States”.

@nprofile…ee5w Since I coined the term and definition, it is ...

2025-01-04T21:28:50Z

nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq9l2d4pcmnaarn32e6xyfxvl4ggwnytq9qx0r7tz34hpky8pdn33s6ree5w (nprofile…ee5w) Since *I* coined the term and definition, it is better to post MY definition, which is the primary source.

Everything else is an interpretation…many of which are inaccurate.

You are literally quoting by people talking about my words at me.

This is my essay: http://nnedi.blogspot.com/2019/10/africanfuturism-defined.html?m=1

Please stop getting it wrong. It’s starting to stink of ...

2025-01-04T19:58:36Z

Please stop getting it wrong. It’s starting to stink of erasure.

I had a photoshoot yesterday (a certain known media outlet is ...

2025-01-03T20:09:06Z

I had a photoshoot yesterday (a certain known media outlet is profiling me) at Navy Pier in Chicago. We took photos there because it features prominently in DEATH OF THE AUTHOR.

It was great to be at the site where so much happened for my protagonist Zelu (felt the same way while in Lagos, Nigeria weeks ago), but GEEZUS, I do NOT miss the bitter Chicago cold, 🥶!! I was freezing for most of the shoot and had to imagine Phoenix’s most extreme heat to endure it, haha.

My novella She Who Knows: FIRESPITTER 🐲 has been selected as ...

2024-12-17T17:55:37Z

My novella She Who Knows: FIRESPITTER 🐲 has been selected as one of Brittle Paper’s 100 Notable African Books of 2024, 😊.

It’s on a bunch of other Best of the Year lists, too. AND it’s been published in Nigeria, as well.

Here's an excerpt from my forthcoming novel DEATH OF THE ...

2024-12-13T02:18:18Z

Here's an excerpt from my forthcoming novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR here (January 2025).

This chapter flashes its scifi side, but *please* understand this book...stretches. When you start the novel (this excerpt is chapter 3, not 1), you'll see what I'm talking about, 😁.

https://reactormag.com/excerpts-death-of-the-author-by-nnedi-okorafor

Context: I spent a BA, two MAs and PhD being told by professors I ...

2024-12-08T03:03:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…yqf2
_________________________

Context:
I spent a BA, two MAs and PhD being told by professors I respected and learned a LOT from that sf and fantasy weren’t real literature. I had one or two profs who encouraged me, but that’s it.

Thankfully, I didn’t need *anyone* to validate what I was doing. I always knew it was valid and good.

Typing this as I listen to Kendrick’s “Man at the Garden”.

I’ve got forthcoming speaking events at Yale, Princeton, ...

2024-12-08T03:02:57Z

I’ve got forthcoming speaking events at Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and more. I’ve come a long way from being told I shouldn’t write science fiction or fantasy because they’re “not real literature”.

IJS. Good to pause and take note of these things once in a while. We’ve moved forward in some areas.

Publishers Weekly did a profile on me. The thesis of it?: I did ...

2024-11-28T20:09:10Z

Publishers Weekly did a profile on me.
The thesis of it?: I did it myyyyyy waaaaayyyyyyyyy!
✍🏾😃🫸🏾 : https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/96501-nnedi-okorafor-did-it-her-way.html

The Council General of the United States of America in Nigeria ...

2024-11-28T02:46:11Z

The Council General of the United States of America in Nigeria held this wonderful event for me in Lagos, Nigeria. 😃

I was interviewed by Lola Shoneyin, novelist of multiple books (including The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives) and founder of the Ake Festival.

The Ake Fest audience during our panel was wonderful. ...

2024-11-27T02:04:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…9s4q
_________________________

The Ake Fest audience during our panel was wonderful. ❤️🇳🇬

Did a wonderful book talk at the #AKEFEST24 in Lagos, Nigeria. ...

2024-11-27T02:03:06Z

Did a wonderful book talk at the #AKEFEST24 in Lagos, Nigeria. 🇳🇬 It was with Umar Abenaki Sidi (author of The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus) and moderated by my good friend Abdulkareem Aminu (who did the cover illustration for the Nigerian edition of SHE WHO KNOWS).

It was such an honor to write the introduction for this new ...

2024-11-10T17:23:52Z

It was such an honor to write the introduction for this new edition of a classic, FIVE WAYS TO FORGIVENESS (to be released Feb 25th, 2025). 😊 It's a really beautiful book, physically and content-wise.

More info here: https://www.unionsquareandco.com/9781454955184/five-ways-to-forgiveness-by-ursula-k-le-guin/

"The New York Times’ ‘Best Books of the Century’ List ...

2024-07-27T00:55:39Z

"The New York Times’ ‘Best Books of the Century’ List Was an Unforgivable Erasure of African Literature"

I am SO happy to see someone call this OUT. That list was such a problem.

https://lithub.com/the-new-york-times-best-books-of-the-century-list-was-an-unforgivable-erasure-of-african-literature

This was the 1st time I held a bound copy (an early reading copy) ...

2024-06-21T16:17:09Z

This was the 1st time I held a bound copy (an early reading copy) of DEATH OF THE AUTHOR. I was at the HarperCollins headquarters for an event in New York.

Such a surreal moment. 🥹 This novel was 30 years in the making. Ah, I did it, 😊.

I am on the cover of Publishers Weekly! I’VE NEVER BEEN ...

2024-06-16T01:08:50Z

I am on the cover of Publishers Weekly! I’VE NEVER BEEN FEATURED ON A MAGAZINE COVER BEFORE. 🤯🫨 Oh my goodness!! 🥹

When I’m overwhelmed, I stop everything and watch classic ...

2024-06-05T17:37:14Z

When I’m overwhelmed, I stop everything and watch classic science fiction films I love, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Today, I’m watching Contact.

Pre-orders for my new novella SHE WHO KNOWS: Firespitter (due out ...

2024-05-18T04:07:25Z

Pre-orders for my new novella SHE WHO KNOWS: Firespitter (due out in August) are available at Afriware Books: https://www.afriwarebooks.com/store/p4682/SHE-WHO-KNOWS-NNEDI-OKORAFOR-9780756418953.html

The glory that is the polyphemus moth. 🦋 ...

2024-05-12T19:55:07Z

The glory that is the polyphemus moth. 🦋

My current read is by Uche Okonkwo. I randomly stumbled across ...

2024-05-07T19:03:09Z

My current read is by Uche Okonkwo. I randomly stumbled across this while just doing what I do and decided to buy it. I am about halfway through and what a ride, 😁. I think a few of these stories are haunted, lol.

You have to read it to get this: That poor chicken! 😆

A Cybertruck wrapped in pink. Blah. ...

2024-04-27T03:40:13Z

A Cybertruck wrapped in pink. Blah.

The cicadas are coming. Beautiful. They are a sign of joy from ...

2024-04-20T16:52:20Z

The cicadas are coming. Beautiful. They are a sign of joy from the Earth, no matter how much human beings [the true scourges of the Earth] whine about them.

My latest short story is titled JUST BEYOND JUPITER’S REACH. ...

2023-06-14T18:03:29Z

My latest short story is titled JUST BEYOND JUPITER’S REACH. 🌪️

It’s part of The Far Reaches collection, “six short science fiction stories from bestselling authors James S. A. Corey, Veronica Roth, Rebecca Roanhorse, Ann Leckie, Nnedi Okorafor, and John Scalzi, curated by John Joseph Adams.”

It will be released on June 27th (on Amazon).

…And if you’ve read Binti and you read the description of my story, you may suspect that it is linked to the Binti trilogy’s universe. It is, 🦐😉.