return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Biography

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie biography, plus links to book reviews and book excerpts from books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Photo © Okey Adichie
Books by this author at BookBrowse:
The Thing Around Your Neck
Half of a Yellow Sun
Purple Hibiscus
Name Pronunciation
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Chim-muh-MAHN-duh en-GOH-zee ah-DEECH-ee-(ay) The “ay” is soft, not quite a diphthong.

Author Interview

Link to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Website

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Biography

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She is from Abba, in Anambra State, but grew up in the university town of Nsukka where she attended primary and secondary schools and briefly studied Medicine and Pharmacy. She then moved to the United States to attend college, graduating summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State with a major in Communication and a minor in Political Science. She holds a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins and a Masters degree in African Studies from Yale.

Purple Hibiscus won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. It was also short-listed for the Orange Prize and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and long-listed for the Booker Prize. Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, Prospect, and The Iowa Review among other literary journals, and she received an O. Henry Prize in 2003. She was a 2005-2006 Hodder Fellow at Princeton, where she taught Introductory Fiction.

Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set before and during the Biafran War. It was published in August 2006 in the United Kingdom and in September 2006 in the United States.

Her collection of short stories, The Thing around Your Neck, was published in 2009.

She says her next major literary project will focus on the Nigerian immigrant experience in the United States. She divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.
This biography was last updated on 07/05/2009.
A note about the biographies
We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate. However, with over 2000 lives to keep track of it's inevitable that some won't be as current or as complete as we would like. So, please help us - if the information about a particular author is out of date, inaccurate or simply very short, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors and those connected with authors: If you wish to make changes to your bio, please send your complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we replace the old with the new, including your website URL if relevant.

Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  Feb 08 
  •  Feb 05 
  •  Feb 02 
The Orphan Master's Son
Adam Johnson
The Orphan Master's Son Jacket An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.
Ragnarok
A.S. Byatt
Ragnarok Jacket War, natural disaster, reckless gods and the recognition of impermanence in the world are just some of the threads that AS Byatt weaves into this most timely of books. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, this is a landmark.
No One is Here Except All of Us
Ramona Ausubel
No One is Here Except All of Us Jacket A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, exploring how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.
Below Stairs
Margaret Powell
Below Stairs Jacket Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high.
The Printmaker's Daughter
Katherine Govier
The Printmaker's Daughter Jacket Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker's Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
BookBrowse members say ....
Recent Reader Reviews
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar
After hearing the interview on NPR with the author, Ayad Akhtar, I was intrigued. This is a timely, contemporary novel concerning topics of... read more
The Healing by Jonathan Odell
I read The Healing in two sittings it is a fascinating story of plantation life at the beginning of the Civil War. Granada, a slave newborn child... read more
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This book is one that will not disappoint. Although it may seem like it is "cliche" or "dull", it is not. The wonderful first... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Brooklyn Bridge
Karen Hesse
2. The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
3. The Sociopath Next Door
Martha Stout
4. A Child Called It
Dave Pelzer
5. The Help
Kathryn Stockett
More...
Book Club Recommendations
Madame Tussaud
by Michelle Moran
Paperback (Dec/11)
Take Me Home
by Brian Leung
Paperback (Nov/11)
City of Tranquil Light
by Bo Caldwell
Paperback (Oct/11)
Keeper
by Andrea Gillies
Paperback (Oct/11)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
No Mark Upon Her
by Deborah Crombie
Five Stars            (Feb/12)
A Good American
by Alex George
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
Three Weeks in December
by Audrey Schulman
4.5 Stars            (Jan/12)
Defending Jacob
by William Landay
4.5 Stars            (Jan/12)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
by Katherine Boo
4.5 Stars            (Feb/12)
More...
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Recommended Reading on North Korea
What Do a Pedophile, a Polygamist and a Tattooed Girl Have in Common?
12 Debuts to Cozy Up with This February
McDonald's Giving Away 9 Million Books With Happy Meals
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
  Latest BookBrowse News
Amazon to open bricks and mortar store in Seattle (Feb 07 2012)
Last week, the word in the blogosphere was that Amazon was considering opening a bricks-and-mortar store. Over the weekend goodereader.com added substance to... Full Story
Arizona bills Amazon for $53 million in uncollected sales tax (Feb 06 2012)
The ongoing sales tax battle between many US states and large online retailers, most notably Amazon, continues with a thrust from Arizona which, last week,... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: How do you find out about new books? Choose all that apply
Recommendations from friends/family
Bookstore/library staff recommendation
Advertising
Search engines
Professional book reviews in print or online
Reader reviews online
Blogs
Social networks
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club

More about
The Healing
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House jacket

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"O M's M is A M's P"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Michelle Moran
Audrey Schulman
William Landay
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us