An author interview with Walter Ude. Read our review of  Walter’s book, The Event here.

LE: Hello Walter, please introduce yourself.

Walter: My name is Walter Uchenna Ude. I was born in Owerri, Imo State, and I grew up there. I’m from Imo State as well. I studied Biochemistry in Federal University of Technology, Owerri. I made the decision to study science in secondary school in spite of my artistic tendencies, because of my family’s intentions.

LE: Is writing your full time job?

Walter: I’m currently an editor, residing in Lagos, Nigeria.

LE: When did you start writing and what prompted it?

Walter: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Ripping out pages from my primary school notebooks to scribble and turn into words the things going on in my head. That angered my dad a lot, the tearing-out-papers-from-my-notebook, especially when it was for a pastime he didn’t want for his son. Some of my earliest memories of writing were of me getting into secondary school and getting a hardcover notebook that I began filling with short stories and poems.

LE: What’s next after The Event?

Walter: Well, I’m working on a book about family and conflicts. I’m tapping into my personal experiences as a growing child to tell the story of three men, brothers, who even in adulthood, are still struggling with the persistent disapproval of a disappointed father. There’s a working title, a beginning, a middle and an end. I’m just very slowly filling it in.

LE: What are your hobbies?

My hobbies are one thing really. Movies. I’m a movie/TV series connoisseur. When I want to veg out, I go to my laptop and click on a show to do that. Reading novels too. These two are very important ways for me to relax because they’re about me escaping my reality into the worlds of make-believe.

We look forward to reading Walter’s book when it is published.

Walter has two published books:

The Event

Love Eventually (with Chisom Ojukwu)

He contributed to a published book of short stories.

A Handful of Dust

Walter is on Twitter and Instagram and has a blog.