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Chris Abani is an acclaimed novelist and poet. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Hemingway Award, an Edgar Prize, a Ford USA Artists Fellowship, the PEN Beyond the Margins Award, UNT Rilke Prize, a Prince Claus Award, the Hurston Wright Legacy Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, among many honors. Born in Nigeria, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Board of Trustees Professor of English and directs the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University.
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1 Story
Chris Abani is an acclaimed novelist and poet. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Hemingway Award, an Edgar Prize, a Ford USA Artists Fellowship, the PEN Beyond the Margins Award, UNT Rilke Prize, a Prince Claus Award, the Hurston Wright Legacy Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, among many honors. Born in Nigeria, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Board of Trustees Professor of English and directs the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University.
CHRIS ABANI
MAY 24 2026
CHRIS ABANI•MAY 24 2026
Nigerian novelist, poet and author of Graceland, Chris Abani, does not believe ‘Nigerian literature’ exists as a category: ‘It is a common misconception that there is a fixed category that can be read as essentially “Nigerian literature”. Nigeria has 500 nations, 500 languages and about 2,000 dialects. While culture and language can overlap, the level of diversity is such that Nigerian literature cannot be easily narrowed down.’