Background
Ukamaka Olisakwe was born and raised in Kano State, Northern Nigeria.
Ukamaka Olisakwe was born and raised in Kano State, Northern Nigeria.
She completed her secondary education in Northern Nigeria and subsequently earned a degree in Computer Science.
Her parents are from Eastern Nigeria. Olisakwe"s debut novel, Eyes of a Goddess, was published in 2012. She has written numerous short stories and articles, most of which have appeared in blogs and online journals, including Olisa.tv, Saraba, Sentinel Nigeria and Short Story Day Africa.
She has been featured in the British Broadcasting Corporation. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash, a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.
Olisakwe administers the blog for the "Writivism Mentorship Programme", a project of the Centre for African Cultural Excellence, and was a co-facilitator at the Lagos Workshop. She was a guest and panel member at the 2014 Ake Arts and Books Festival and the Hay Festival.
She was also a delegate at the 8th Pan African Congress which was held in Ghana. Olisakwe was selected as one of the 39 most promising writers under the age of 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora, in the Africa39 project – a Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club initiative in celebration of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Book Capital 2014.
Olisakwe"s Africa39 entry, This Is How I Remember it, was described by one reviewer as "a clear-eyed account of a girl"s romantic awakening in Nigeria" and a story "so good it leaves us wanting more".
Another reviewer described her entry as a "gripping story about adolescent romance, deception and yearning". —(2014) Listed among Africa39 project of 39 writers aged under 40 —(2014) Listed among This Is Africa"s "Best 100 Books 2010-2014" for Eyes of a Goddess.