An interview with Chika Unigwe. Read our review of her book, Night Dancer here.
LE: Hello Chika, please tell us a bit about yourself.
Chika: I was born and raised in Enugu, went to FGGC, Bwari, Abuja and got my first degree at UNN, Nsukka Campus. I have a master’s degree from the KU Leuven, Belgium and a PhD from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. I live in Atlanta, GA., USA.
LE: What you do for a living? Is writing your full time job?
Chika: I am a part time professor of creative writing and a full time writer.
LE: When did you start writing and what prompted it?
Chika: I’ve always enjoyed reading (and wanting to write seemed like a natural offshoot of that love). I started calling myself a writer when my first novel was published in 2006, in Belgium.
LE: Are you currently working on any book and if you are, what is it about?
Chika: I am working on a novel set in Nigeria and in the US, a reimagination (and expansion) of the myth of Hades and Persephone.
LE: Lastly, what are your hobbies?
Chika: I love reading, long baths, not-too-long walks and radio.
Chika has several published books which she authored and co-authored in English and Dutch. Her books have been translated into several other languages. A comprehensive list of her writing can be found here.
She is on Facebook, Twitter and has a blog.
Categories: Authors and Books
Literary Everything 
Nice one. Strangely, I though Chika lived in Europe; Netherlands…Germany…but definitely not the US. Interesting discovery. Also didn’t know she is a PhD holder & lecturer. Impressive! Haven’t read any of her books. I should do that soon.
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Many thanks. I think because she also speaks Dutch, you’d expect her to be in Europe. 🙂 You should read her books, we enjoyed Night Dancer and will be reading her other books including the anticipated new release this September.
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Great interview! I learnt a lot of new things about China Unigwe. I read ‘On Black Sisters Street’ in 2014, and I still think about it from time to time.
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Many thanks. It’s amazing how much info is divulged even in a short interview. We like to keep the interviews really short for the AOTW posts. On Black Sisters Street is on my reading list.
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The lady is a magnificent writer. One should just read her: On Black Sisters’ Street ,and we can see that here is another world class writer from NIGERIA.
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Will read that soon. I agree, she writes really well.
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