15 Captivating Books by Nigerian Authors to Add to Your Reading List

Home to over 206 million people, Nigeria is a country rich in diversity, from its people and cultures, to its geography, and of course, its literature.

One of the country’s best-known literary works was Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. But if that’s all you know of Nigerian literature, then you’re missing out on a huge wave of talent that’s given us dozens of award-winning books in recent years.

In this post, we’ll show you some of the best books written by Nigerian authors in recent years so you can diversify your reading list.

Books by Contemporary Nigerian Authors

Below are 10 books by contemporary Nigerian authors that you’ll want to add to your library.

1. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In Americanah, a young couple leaves military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Ifemelu goes to America, where despite her academic success, she is confronted with racism for the first time. Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he begins a dangerous, undocumented life in London.

Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and rediscover their passion not only for each other, but also their country.

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria. Her family lost almost everything during the Nigerian Civil War, including both of her grandfathers.

She left Nigeria at 19 to study communications and political science in the United States, where she completed a master’s degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, and a master of arts in African studies from Yale University.

She is also the author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck, and the nonfiction book We Should All Be Feminists.

2. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Adunni is a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village. She longs to get an education and find her “louding voice” so she can speak up for herself and fight for her dreams.

Despite the many obstacles and hardships in her path, Adunni never loses sight of her goal, and works to escape her life of poverty so she can build the future of her dreams and help other girls like her do the same.

This is Abi Daré’s debut novel, published in 2020. She was born in Lagos to the first female professor of taxation in Nigeria. Daré moved to the UK for her higher education and now lives in Essex, England.

3. Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

Ever since they met and fell in love at university in Nigeria, Yejide and Akin have agreed that polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage, and after consulting numerous experts, Yejide is still not pregnant.

She assumes she still has time, until her in-laws arrive with a young woman they introduce as Akin’s second wife. Shocked and livid with jealousy, Yejide knows the only way to save her marriage is to get pregnant. And she finally does—but at a cost greater than she could have ever imagined.

Born in Lagos, author Ayobami Adebayo studied English literature at Obafemi Awolowo University and creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

In 2015, two years before her first novel was released, she was listed by the Financial Times as one of the “bright stars of Nigerian literature.”

4. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

But when Sunny discovers that she is a “free agent” with latent magical power, she joins quartet of magic students to study the visible and invisible and learn to change reality. Soon, they’re tasked with catching a career criminal who knows magic, too.

Although born in Ohio,

Nnedi Okorafor has always maintained close ties with Nigerian culture, visiting the country often since she was very young.

Her parents traveled to the US in 1969 to study, but were unable to return home due to the Nigerian Civil War. In high school, Okorafor was a nationally known tennis and track star, but after being diagnosed with scoliosis, a rare complication during surgery left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Soon after, she began to write short stories as a hobby, and at the suggestion of a friend, took a creative writing class, where she was writing her first novel by the end of the semester.

5. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Freshwater is Akwaeke Emezi’s semi-autobiographical debut novel. The protagonist, Ada, is an ogbanje—she develops separate selves within her as a result of being born “with one foot on the other side. The novel explores the metaphysics of identity and mental health.

Emezi was born in Umuahia, Nigeria to an Igbo Nigerian father and an Indian Tamil mother. Emezi and their sister used to tell stories as a way of escaping the riots, dictatorship, and overall dangerous reality of their childhood.

Emezi is also the author of Pet, about a transgender teen living in a world where adults refuse to acknowledge the existence of monsters.

6. I Do Not Come to You By Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

As the eldest son, Kingsley is entitled to certain privileges, but also many responsibilities. Times are bad in Nigeria, and unable to find work, Kingsley cannot take on the duty of training his younger siblings, nor provide his parents with financial peace for their retirement. He also can’t afford the bride price for Ola, the young woman he loves deeply.

His uncle Boniface—aka “Cash Daddy”—may be able to help. Boniface is rumored to run a successful empire of email scams, and with his intervention, Kingsley and his family can be safe. It’s up to Kingsley to reconcile his passion for knowledge with his hunger for money, and to fully assume his role of first son.

Author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani was born in Enugu. She earned her first paycheck from a writing competition at the age of 13, and her mother is a cousin of Flora Nwapa, the first female African writer to publish a book.

Nwaubani has expressed conflicted feelings regarding her family’s heritage, as her great-grandfather was a famous chief and slave trader in Nigeria.

7. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

In Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel, Korede must deal with her beautiful and possibly sociopathic sister’s penchant for murdering her boyfriends.

Fortunately for Ayoola, Korede knows the best solutions for cleaning blood; the trunk of her car is big enough for a body; and she keeps her sister from posting pictures of her dinner when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend.

But when the handsome, kind doctor Korede works with and has been secretly loving for quite some time asks her for Ayoola’s phone number, Korede must finally reckon with what her sister has become and how far she’s willing to go to protect her.

Braithwaite was born in Lagos and spent her childhood between Nigeria and the UK. She studied law and creative writing at Surrey University and Kingston University before returning to Lagos in 2012.

She has also worked as an assistant editor for publishing house Kachifo, and in addition to writing, is also an illustrator.

8. Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo

After being ordered to kill innocent civilians, army officer Chike Ameobi knows it is time to desert his post. As he travels toward Lagos with his junior officer, Yemi, Chike becomes the leader of a group of runaways who share his desire for a different kind of life.

This humorous and heartfelt novel tells of aspirations and escape, of innocence and corruption, while offering a provocative portrait of contemporary Nigeria.

Chibundu Onuzo

was raised in Lagos, the youngest of four children to two doctors. At 14, she moved to England to study at an all-girls’ school.

At 17, she began writing her first novel, and would soon become the youngest female writer ever published by Faber and Faber. In 2018, Onuzo was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its “40 Under 40” initiative.

9. Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

Binta is a 55-year-old Muslim in widow whose husband and son have both been murdered. Reza is a 25-year-old weed dealer and local gang leader.

When the two are brought together by unusual circumstances, they both face needs they could only satisfy in each other, and begin a salacious affair in conservative northern Nigeria.

Binta yearns for intimacy after the sexual repression of her marriage and the pain of losing her first son, while Reza’s heart longs for the love of a mother he never had. Things come to a head when Binta’s wealthy son confronts Reza, with disastrous consequences.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is a Nigerian author and journalist. He earned a BA in Mass Communication from the University of Jos. He won the BBC African Performance Prize, and is a a Gabriel Garcia Marquez Fellow, a Civitella Ranieri Fellow, and an Art OMI Fellow.

Season of Crimson Blossoms was his debut novel and winner of the 2016 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

10. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

In the winter of 1953, at age 20, Boy Novak decides to leave New York for a brand new life. She settles for Flax Hill, Massachusetts, the last stop on the bus route. There, she meets Arturo Whitman, a craftsman, widower, and father of Snow.

Boy is enchanted by Snow, the mild-mannered, deeply cherished girl that Boy never was. But when Boy gives birth to Snow’s sister, Bird, Boy is forced to re-evaluate the image Arturo’s family have presented to her, and Boy, Snow and Bird are broken apart.

Helen Oyeyemi was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was raised in London from the age of four. She wrote her first novel, The Icarus Girl, while studying for her A-levels.

In addition to her seven novels, Oyeyemi has written two plays and a short story collection.

Classic Nigerian Authors

These award-winning authors have been enriching Nigerian literature for decades.

11. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

While it’s a shame that this is the only book by a Nigerian author that most Westerners are immediately familiar with, Things Fall Apart is a classic for good reason.

Set in the late 1800s, it depicts pre-colonial life in southeastern Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans through the eyes of Okonkwo, an Igbo warrior of Umuofia.

Author Chinua Achebe was often called the “Father of Nigerian Literature,” but he twice refused the Nigerian government’s attempt to name him Commander of the Federal Republic in protest of the country’s political regime.

Through Things Fall Apart and is other works, Achebe characterizes cultural norms, changing societal values, and the struggle of individuals to find their place among these changes.

12. Aké: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka

This 1981 memoir traces Wole Soyinka’s childhood in a Nigerian village, Aké, before and during World War II. Though written decades later, Soyinka vividly captures the colorful memories of his childhood, evoking his youthful curiosity at the sights, sounds, and aromas of the world that shaped him.

Nobel Prize–winner Soyinka was the first African to receive the award, and his work, which heavily criticizes the oppression and exploitation of the weak, has often landed him in danger, with the government of General Sani Abacha once pronouncing a death sentence on him “in absentia.”

13. Kolera Kolej by Femi Osofisan

Femi Osofisan’s first novel, published in 1975, tells the story of a Nigerian university that is granted independence from the rest of the country in order to stop the spread of a Cholera outbreak.

In this book, like many of his other plays and books, Osofisan uses allegories and metaphors to explore themes of corruption and injustice.

The author and playwright is Vice President of the Pan African Writers’ Association and was the first African to be awarded the Thalia Prize by the International Association of Theatre Critics.

14. The Famished Road by Ben Okri

Winner of the Man Booker Prize, The Famished Road follows Azaro, a spirit child, who exists between life and death, experiencing both its joys and tragedies.

His spirit companions visit him often, hounding him to leave the mortal world and join them in their idyllic one. Although Azaro sees a trying life ahead, he is born smiling.

Ben Okri is an award-winning poet and novelist often recognized as one of the foremost African authors in the post-modern movement.

He was appointed an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth in 2001 for his services to literature.

15. The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Published in 1979, The Joys of Motherhood tells the story of Nnu Ego, a Nigerian woman struggling in a patriarchal society where a woman’s value is based on her ability to give birth to sons.

She is unable to conceive a child in her first marriage, and is banished to Lagos, where she becomes a mother. Then, during World War II, she must protect herself and her children when her husband her people abandon her.

Buchi Emecheta was a Nigerian-born author who was based in the UK from 1962. After leaving her abusive children, she earned a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Sociology from the University of London while working to support her five children on her own.

Emcheta’s works explore themes of child slavery, motherhood, female independence, and freedom through education. In 2005, she was named an OBE for her services to literature.

Nigeria’s Literary Renaissance

As this New York Times article points out, renowned Nigerian authors of past generations typically gained recognition abroad, and enjoyed less success in their native country.

But now, many young Nigerian authors are building audiences at home among readers who are hungry for stories that address contemporary issues, such as violence against women, polygamy, and Boko Haram.

Publishers like Nigerian’s own Cassava Republic are another reason why we may be seeing more diverse literature coming from Africa.

Instead of selling publication rights to American presses, like most foreign publishers do, Cassava Republic prints and distributes its titles to American booksellers through Consortium, a book distributor based in Minnesota.

This is significant because rather than European and American publishers selecting works they judge to be significant or prize-worthy, an African publisher is choosing which books get exported, which means Western readers can access a greater variety of titles and learn more about this rich literary culture.

Do you have a favorite Nigerian author? Tell us about them in the comments below!

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