Celebrated novelist Obioma joins UGA faculty

Nigerian novelist Chigozie Obioma has been appointed the Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor of English in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of English.

Born in Akure, Nigeria, Obioma is the author of three novels, "The Fishermen" (2015), "An Orchestra of Minorities" (2019), both shortlisted for The Booker Prize, and "The Road to the Country” (2024), a novel about the Nigerian Civil War published in June.  

As reported by the New York Times in May, after the success of “The Fishermen,” Obioma was inundated with requests for advice from writers around the world. He found that the one-on-one sessions were taking up most of his time and affecting his own work. To continue assisting young writers, he co-founded the Oxbelly Writers Retreat, a free eight-day program in Greece during the summer.

Professor Obioma joined the Creative Writing program and will teach courses in fiction writing and contemporary global anglophone literatures with special emphasis on African literature. His appointment was effective Aug. 1.

"I am super excited to join such a prestigious institution as a professor in the Creative Writing program, which for me is flat out one of the most promising in the country," Obioma said. "I have always wanted to be a part of something special and fulfilling, and I believe that my colleagues at the English department have made me see this position as exactly that special thing. I feel also that Athens is one of the most beautiful college towns in America, and the time I have spent here so far has been nothing but fulfilling and re-invigorating."

"We are delighted to welcome Professor Obioma to Park Hall," said Roland Végső, professor and head of the department of English. "He is an internationally celebrated author whose novels move effortlessly between the mundane and the mystical. Through his masterful prose, he has already established himself as a leading voice of contemporary global anglophone fiction." 

A book launch party celebrating Professor Chigozie Obioma's newest book "The Road to the Country" will be held Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. at Ciné in downtown Athens.

Image: Photo of Professor Obioma by Nikki Moore, via Penguin Random House Canada.