Inspirathursday! (The story of Nnedi Okorafor)

Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor(formerly Okorafor-Mbachu) was  born on April 8, 1974. She is a Nigerian-American writer of fantasy and science fiction for both children and adults. 

She is best known for writing Binti(series), Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, Akata Witch, and Lagoon. In 2015, Brittle Paper named her the African Literary Person of the Year. 

    Nnedi has become a name to reckon with in the literary world. Nnedi Okorafor

is a professor aged , 46. 

She has attended various institutions in her quest for knowledge which include, University of Illinois, Chicago (PhD),University of Illinois, Chicago (MA), Michigan State University (MA),University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA).

 She has worn many awards which include 

Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, The World Fantasy Award,Nebula Award for Best Novella,Hugo Award for Best Novella,The Lodestar Award,Locus Award for Best YA Novel,Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa,Carl Brandon Parallax Award

Children's Africana Book Award.

    Nnedi's parents traveled to America to  school, but they could not return to Nigeria because of the Nigerian Civil War. The American-born daughter of Igbo Nigerian parents, Okorafor has been visiting Nigeria since she was very young and does not lack experience of her homeland.

    During her years attending Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, IL, Okorafor was a nationally-known tennis and track star,and excelled in math and the sciences. Due to her interest in insects, she desired to be an entomologist.

   She was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 13, a condition that worsened as she grew older. At age 19, she underwent spinal fusion surgery to straighten and fuse her spine; a rare complication led to Okorafor becoming paralyzed from the waist down.  

  Okorafor turned to writing small stories in the margins of a science-fiction book that she had. It was the first time she had ever written anything creatively. That summer, with intense physical therapy, Okorafor regained her ability to walk, but she was unable to continue her athletic career, using a cane to walk. At the suggestion of a close friend, she took a creative writing class that spring semester, and was writing her first novel by the semester's end.

     Okorafor holds a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State and a master's degree and PhD in English from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is also a. 2001 graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop in Lansing, Michigan. 

    Nnedi went from a devastated paralyzed teenager to a very well known and acclaimed author winning awards here and there. So why not you dear? Why? All you require is passion, hardwork and determination .

Nnedi in her autobiography, Broken places and outer spaces ,tells the story of her life.