Irenosen Okojie – författare

'Okojie is a dazzlingly wild, bold and imaginative writer who tells stories with captivating originality and intense drama' Bernardine Evaristo 'Dazzling . . . A feast for the senses' Diana EvansWinner of the AKO Cain Prize____________In this collection of short stories, offbeat characters are caught up in extraordinary situations that test the boundaries of reality . . . A love-hungry goddess of the sea arrives on an island inhabited by eunuchs. A girl from Martinique moonlights as a Grace Jones impersonator. Dimension-hopping monks sworn to silence must face a bloody reckoning.And a homeless man goes right back, to the very beginning, through a gap in time. Nudibranch is a dark and seductive foray into the surreal.____________PRAISE FOR IRENOSEN OKOJIE 'One of the most original and innovative writers to emerge in many a year'ALEX WHEATLE MBE'Okojie has a sharp eye for the twisting stories of the city, and a turn of phrase that switches from elegance to brutality in a single line'STELLA DUFFY

'The power of this weird, haunting fiction is undeniable.' Guardian'Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive.' Joanne Harris'A delightful gourmet of magical, creative prose and masterful storytelling.' Alex WheatleIn contemporary London, Therese, Azacca, Emilien and Finn are kindred spirits, bound by their shared descent from the loving yet vengeful deity, Oni. Set with a sacred task by their god, they travel to an otherworldly plane - but one day, something returns with them.In the mountainous town of 17th-century Gethsemane, the mysterious arrival of Zulmira sparks a series of strange events that will leave the locals changed. As she settles into the community, these increasingly menacing miracles disrupt time and place, whilst the quartet discover the cost of their service to Oni.With the past and the present set to collide, Curandera is a mythic tale of rebirth and redemption, love and jealousy, and the magnetic workings of shamanism.'Mindbogglingly glorious.' Yvvette Edwards'I was blown away by Curandera and by the epic scale of Okojie's imagination and creativity . . . I loved it.' Louise Minchin'I'm in awe of Irenosen Okojie's burden of talent. Leave your rational mind behind with your phone and enter Curandera's spell.' Laline Paull

'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday TimesDARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today. 'A thoroughly original package that has a hint of Angela Carter' The Times'Sharp writing and cleverly done' Spectator

'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday TimesDARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today. 'A thoroughly original package that has a hint of Angela Carter' The Times'Sharp writing and cleverly done' Spectator

'The power of this weird, haunting fiction is undeniable.' Guardian'Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive.' Joanne Harris'Mindbogglingly glorious.' Yvvette EdwardsIn the mountainous town of Gethsemane, 17th-century Cape Verde, a mysterious woman's arrival sparks a series of strange events that will leave the town's inhabitants changed: men sporadically blind in the afternoons, children disappearing and reappearing without warning and infertile women pregnant with the memories of past births.In present-day London, a quartet are brought together by their fascination with ritual, miracles and a life beyond the mundane. Botanist Therese lives with Azacca, a soulful Haitian musician, Peruvian drifter Emilien, who is haunted by the past, and adventurous Finn, who is increasingly drawn to living life on the edge.With the past and present beginning to blur into one, Curandera is a story of rebirth and redemption, a mythic tale of recalibrations across time.'I was blown away by Curandera and by the epic scale of Okojie's imagination and creativity . . . I loved it.' Louise Minchin'An exhilarating experience of a novel that will take you on a hallucinatory trip into the soul and the phantasmagorical unknown.' Bernardine Evaristo'Chimeric and delirious.' Scotland on SundayPraise for Irenosen Okojie's previous books:'Dazzling . . . a feast for the senses.' Diana Evans'One of the finest literary imaginations working today.' Max Porter'A liberatingly odd, seductive and fearless talent.' Laline Paull'Okojie has a sharp eye . . . and a turn of phrase that switches from elegance to brutality in a single line.' Stella Duffy

"I loved it. Vivid, brutal, moving and tender. This is heartfelt and immersive." Joanne Harris"Curandera is the mesmerising by-product of Okojie's extraordinary imagination and writing that is mindbogglingly glorious." Yvvette EdwardsIn the mountainous town of Gethsemane, 17th-century Cape Verde, a mysterious woman's arrival sparks a series of strange events that will leave the town's inhabitants changed: men sporadically blind in the afternoons, children disappearing and reappearing without warning and infertile women pregnant with the memories of past births.In present-day London, a quartet are brought together by their fascination with ritual, miracles and a life beyond the mundane. Botanist Therese lives with Azacca, a soulful Haitian musician, Peruvian drifter Emilien, who is haunted by the past, and adventurous Finn, who is increasingly drawn to living life on the edge.With the past and present beginning to blur into one, Curandera is a story of rebirth and redemption, a mythic tale of recalibrations across time.Praise for Irenosen Okojie's previous books:"Dazzling . . . a feast for the senses." Diana Evans"One of the finest literary imaginations working today." Max Porter"A liberatingly odd, seductive and fearless talent." Laline Paull"Okojie has a sharp eye . . . and a turn of phrase that switches from elegance to brutality in a single line." Stella Duffy

QUIXOTIC FISSURES is a hybrid collection of essays, stories and other writing that foreground moments of transformation, reconfiguration and regeneration of the body and the mind.Irenosen Okojie takes as her starting point the idea of carrying trauma in the body, exploring experiences of depression and illness; considering healing powers shared between generations of women in her family; and recounting her experience of prejudice at an all girls English boarding school with spirit, humour and insight.The collection closes with The Things I Remember About My Father, a deeply moving essay in which we witness the affirmation of a deep, transgenerational bond in spite of a devastating loss. As the pieces make clear, this will be a work of boundless imagination and acute inquiry that celebrates the evolving body moving through life with all its pain and glory.

Betty Trask Award winner 2016. A stunning debut from the author of Speak Gigantular.A fragile outsider living in London, Joy struggles to pull the threads of her life back together after her mother's sudden death. Emptiness consumes her and, needing to fill the gaps of her loss, she finds she is drawn to a unique artefact inherited from her mother - a warrior's head cast in brass that belonged to a king in eighteenth century Benin, Nigeria.Joy is haunted by a beautiful young woman who appears in her photographs, familiar yet beguilingly distinct, the woman trails her wherever she goes. Joy begins to dream of a different time, a different place. She feels an inexplicable pull towards this mysterious female, and a past revealing itself through clues is scattered in her path. As family secrets come to light, she unearths the ties between her mother, grandfather, the wife of the king, a fearsome warrior, and the brass head's pivotal connection to them all.Haunting and compelling, Butterfly Fish is a richly told story of love and hope; of family secrets, power, political upheaval, loss and coming undone.'a novel of epic proportions... I fully expect to see Butterfly Fish on many an award nomination list.' Yvvette Edwards'A stunningly well-written book, juggling different timescales with great skill. Benin itself is vividly imagined in a historical narrative that runs in parallel with the contemporary London one. It is a wonderful novel." Simon Brett OBE'A wonderful, richly drawn novel, cleverly juxtaposing scenes from everyday London with African folklore and mysticism.' Joanne Harris

Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the Saboteur Awards, the Shirley Jackson Award and the Jhalak Prize. A startling debut short story collection from the award-winning author of Butterfly Fish. Okojie's collection of stories are captivating, erotic, enigmatic and disturbing.Irenosen Okojie's gift is in her understated humour, her light touch, her razor-sharp assessment of the best and worst of humankind, and her unflinching gaze into the darkest corners of the human experience. Okojie has created a world with errant Londoners caught between here and the hereafter, where insensitive men cheat on their mistresses and can only muster enough interest to fall for one- dimensional poster girls and where brave young women attempt to be erotically empowered at their own peril. Sexy, serious and at times downright disturbing, this brilliant debut collection sizzles with originality.

Winner of the Betty Trask Award 2016."A novel of epic proportions... I fully expect to see Butterfly Fish on many an award nomination list." - Yvette Edwards"A stunningly well-written book, juggling different timescales with great skill. Benin itself is vividly imagined in a historical narrative that runs in parallel with the contemporary London one. It is a wonderful novel." - Simon Brett OBE"A wonderful, richly drawn novel, cleverly juxtaposing scenes from everyday London with African folklore and mysticism." - Joanne HarrisA stunning debut from the author of Speak Gigantular.A fragile outsider living in London, Joy struggles to pull the threads of her life back together after her mother's sudden death. Emptiness consumes her and, needing to fill the gaps of her loss, she finds she is drawn to a unique artefact inherited from her mother - a warrior's head cast in brass that belonged to a king in eighteenth century Benin, Nigeria.Joy is haunted by a beautiful young woman who appears in her photographs, familiar yet beguilingly distinct, the woman trails her wherever she goes. Joy begins to dream of a different time, a different place. She feels an inexplicable pull towards this mysterious female, and a past revealing itself through clues is scattered in her path. As family secrets come to light, she unearths the ties between her mother, grandfather, the wife of the king, a fearsome warrior, and the brass head's pivotal connection to them all.Haunting and compelling, Butterfly Fish is a richly told story of love and hope; of family secrets, power, political upheaval, loss and coming undone.

"Precise and illuminating." - Bernardine Evaristo OBE.Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the Saboteur Awards, the Shirley Jackson Award and the Jhalak Prize.Lovelorn aliens abduct innocent coffee shop waitresses. Ghosts of errant Londoners haunt the Underground, caught between here and the hereafter. Brave young women seek erotic empowerment... at their own peril.These are the worlds of Speak Gigantular, the startling debut short story collection from acclaimed author Irenosen Okojie MBE. Understated in her humour and razor-sharp in her observations of humankind, Okojie's eclectic anthology offers an unflinching gaze into the darkest corners of the human experience.Sexy, serious, and often downright disturbing, this brilliant debut collection sizzles with originality."A work of rare confidence, luminous imagery and full of hidden sharp edges." - Nina Allan, winner of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire."Irenosen Okojie's Speak Gigantular should, if there is any literary justice, place her in a circle with writers like Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, and Angela Carter." - New Orleans Review.