been a while since i posted here. i've been working on a new novel. 🪶
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Nnedi Okorafor
@nnedi@mas.to
mastodon 4.7.2*THE* Naijamerican PhD-holding, World Fantasy, multi-Hugo, Nebula, Eisner Award-winning, New York Times bestselling rudimentary cyborg writer www.nnedi.com
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Joined November 04, 2022
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.
We drove far enough from Phoenix to reach water, 😃!
I saw an osprey in the wild!!!!!!! 😃!! First bird we saw on the beach, when we arrived in Peñasco, Mexico. I knew immediately what this beauty was, didn’t even need an official ID (though I did post a pic on iNaturalist, heehee).
This was a “lifer” for ME (a bird species I saw for the first time in your life). For a birder or bird watcher (not really sure which one I am), that’s a big deal.
Random thoughts:
It's so sad that there are no photos of the dodo bird.
And humankind did that bird such wrong.
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. 🏜️
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Also, in my speech, I mentioned how I had professors in my program who didn't consider speculative fiction real literature. I talked about how I still learned valuable writing skills from them and the fact that you can learn from those who may not fully see you.
After all that…there I was.
😏
I have had an incredible day. 😃
My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a 2026 Ohio Book Award finalist (Fiction), ✨😃. If so inclined, you can vote for it here: https://survey.typeform.com/to/Pows6jiE
My daughter and I have been in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico the last few days. I have so much to talk about. But *first*, I need to zoom in on what we both agree was the most memorable hour, 😆.
I wrote about it here: "I Lost My Glasses and Everything Escalated":
https://nnedi.blogspot.com/2026/06/i-lost-my-glasses-and-everything.html?m=1
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/
I won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Fiction! 🏆 …with this loud obnoxious semi-autobiographical tribute to Nigerian-America🇳🇬🇺🇸, robots🤖, storytelling🦋and the triumph of (not over) “disability”🐬. 🥹
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’ll be a Guest of Honor at the Locus Awards this year!
Locus Magazine announced it here:
https://locusmag.com/2026/02/locus-awards-announces-guest-of-honor-nnedi-okorafor/
And here’s a picture of me relaxing with Periwinkle to prove that I actually do sometimes pause and rest, 😮💨😁:
My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a Nebula Award finalist for Best Novel. And look at the powerful company it’s in.
Still kind of stunned by this book’s journey. 🥹
Happy Book Birthday to THE DAUGHTER WHO REMAINS. The novella trilogy is complete. 🐉🧙🏾♀️
This one opens with pure juju.
Najeeba has something terrible to kill.
Available where books are sold, including Afriware Books:
https://www.afriwarebooks.com/store/p4933/THE-DAUGHTER-WHO-REMAINS-NNEDI-OKORAFOR-9780756418991.html
My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a finalist for an LA Times Book Prize (Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction). I’m in powerful company!
Honored. 🥹 Thrilled. 💃🏿 Slightly levitating. 🤖
Tomorrow in Madison, Wisconsin:
Brittle Paper Editor, Ainehi Edoro to Moderate Nnedi Okorafor in Humanities Without Boundaries Conversation This Tuesday
https://brittlepaper.com/2026/04/brittle-paper-editor-ainehi-edoro-to-moderate-nnedi-okorafor-in-conversation-at-wisconsin-book-festival-this-tuesday/
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DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is semi-autobiographical, full of robots, weed and wahala, it’s weird, unhinged and I wrote it while in such pain. For all this to resonate with this nation’s (🇺🇸) librarians (the custodians of knowledge) at this strange and fraught time in the United States is…🥹!
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It’s ridiculous that I have to keep repeating this.
Look at the year I wrote that essay.
Unbelievable.
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Note: This isn’t a survey of novels; I write it, I don’t study those who write it. It’s about what Africanjujuism is, why it exists, and how it works.
I was up to some mischief days ago and I took this selfie and it reminded me of an illustration done of me some years ago, 😆.
A moment I’ll remember for a long time.✨ My cousins Cyndy & Stephanie Okorafor and illustrator Tana Ford (illustrator of our graphic novels LaGuardia and The Space Cat) at Awesome Con (where I was a guest speaker)😃.
A meeting of worlds and the most Okorafors to ever be at any Comic Con at once! 🥹
If you are looking to sell your soul, now is your chance.
💥Cover Reveal:
THE DESERT MAGICIAN’S DUOLOGY
Book 1: SHADOW SPEAKER (DAW Books, Sept 26, 2023). Drawn by Greg Ruth.
Niger, West Africa, 2074: Deep mysticism, a new type of desert, spontaneous forests, polyandry, fast cars, the power of Gerewol (google it; you won’t be disappointed!), this novel has many lives.
SHADOW SPEAKER is available for pre-order here: https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/shadow-speaker-9780756418762/
A lovely bird grasshopper I caught and released in the Al Wadi Desert in the United Arab Emirates. Pure joy.
I am soooooo looking forward to this film! I love the novel series (especially the first one), this looks like it’s going to be beautiful. 🤖
I don’t drink or smoke. My greatest vices are eating lots of seaweed snacks and chocolate (not out of stress, but because they are DELICIOUS). That said, I’m reading the editorial letter for this novel and, lol, this is probably one of those moments where writers who partake break out the drugs and alcohol, 🤣. Yep, I may not consume those, but I FULLY understand why those who do do. No judgment from me.
🫨
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@Htaggert@mstdn.social lol, i spoke before the students walked the stage. no one was leaving yet.
It’s amazing how people can’t talk about the OceanGate tragedy without falling into whataboutism or snarking about the wealthy and foolish. Can’t even give the fact of it a moment. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism, but it’s problematic behavior.