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Nuzo Onoh

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Nuzo Onoh
Born (1962-09-22) September 22, 1962 (age 62)
Old Biafra, Nigeria
OccupationNovelist
NationalityNigerian-British
EducationMaster's degrees in Writing and Law from Warwick University
Genre Fiction, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Horror, African Horror
Notable worksThe Sleepless (2016); Dead Corpse (2017); A Dance for the Dead (2022)
Notable awardsBram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
2022
ChildrenCandice Onyeama and Carmen Jija Gyoh

Nuzo Onoh (born 22 September 1962) is a Nigerian-British writer. She grew up the third of eight children of the late Chief Mrs Caroline Onoh, a former headteacher. Her father was Chief Dr. C.C Onoh, the wealthy landowner, lawyer, politician, and former governor of Anambra State.[1] She experienced the Biafran war with Nigeria (1967–70) as a child refugee within numerous Biafran villages and towns[2] and at the age of 13, she was the victim of an attempted "exorcism" by a local pastor. Due to this experience, she advocates for greater awareness of ritual child abuse in African communities.[3]

On 17 June 2023, Nuzo Onoh became a recipient of the 2022 Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award is conferred on "an individual whose work has substantially influenced the horror genre", and "is an acknowledgment of superior achievement in an entire career."[4] Onoh is the first African and Black-British to win this award.[1]

Education

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Nuzo Onoh attended Queen's School, in Enugu, Nigeria, as well as The Mount School, York, a Quaker boarding school in York, and later, St Andrew's Tutorial College, Cambridge,[5][6][failed verification] a sixth-form college in Cambridge, England. Onoh holds a law degree and a master's degree in writing from Warwick University.[2]

Writing

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Onoh is a pioneer of the African horror subgenre.[7] Onoh's books The Reluctant Dead (2014) and Unhallowed Graves (2015)[8] are collections of ghost stories depicting core Igbo culture, traditions, beliefs and superstitions within a horror context.

She is the author of The Sleepless (2016), Dead Corpse (2017), The Unclean (2020), A Dance for the Dead (2022) and Where the Dead Brides Gather (2024).[9][10][11] Onoh's work has appeared in magazines, podcasts, and anthologies, including the anthology REVELATIONS: Horror Writers for Climate Action.[12] She has contributed to several award-winning anthologies, among which are Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, winner of the British Fantasy Award for "Best Anthology" in 2021[13] and Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best Anthology.[14] She has had work in the science-fiction magazine Starburst.[15][16] She is listed in the reference book 80 Black Women in Horror (Sumiko Saulson, 2017) and 160 Black Women in Horror (2023).

Onoh's works have been longlisted and shortlisted and have also been included in academic studies, including the Routledge Handbook of African Literature, Bloomsbury's Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction and Follow Me: Religion in Fantasy and Science Fiction.[17] She has appeared on media platforms, discussing her writing and African Horror as a genre. She has written blogs for Female First Magazine and Black Ballad magazine.[18][19][20] Onoh has been mentioned as one of the British horror writers bringing a positive change to the way black and minority races are portrayed in mainstream horror fiction.[21]

Onoh has also given talks and lectures, including at the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies.[22]

Onoh writes about vengeful African ghosts with unfinished business and has been described by one journalist as the "Queen of African Horror".[23] Her writings have been described as works of "magical realism and horror", exploring the "philosophical positions that define the reality of Africa and Africans in a world that is bent towards Western globalization and the annihilation of African roots in culture."[23] Her writing showcases both the beautiful and horrific in the African, mainly Igbo, culture and includes issues of religious hypocrisy, child abuse, ritual killings, dangerous superstitions, corrupt politicians, evil witchdoctors and the plight of widows in the broader African culture, all within a fictitious horror context.[23] Her book The Sleepless, a ghost story tackling both the ritual abuse of children and the horrors of the Biafran War, has been described as "a genuine powerhouse of horror storytelling"[16] and as a work that "goes beyond magical realism":[23] "What distinguishes her genre as 'African Horror' is the detailed exploration of African beliefs on the mysterious and the spiritual, which reveals a lot about the 'African Self'".[23]

Family

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Onoh has two children, Candice Onyeama (writer and film director)[24] and Carmen Jija Gyoh (Fintech Product Designer).

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nuzo Onoh to receive lifetime achievement award from 'Oscars' of horror genre". guardian.ng. Nigeria. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b Mcvie, Fiona (11 March 2016). "Here is my interview with Nuzo Onoh". authorsinterviews. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  3. ^ McCrum, Kirstie (24 June 2016). "Terrifying exorcism of writer accused of being POSSESSED by church pastor". Mirror.
  4. ^ "Lifetime Achievement Award". www.thebramstokerawards.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  5. ^ "St Andrews College | Independent College Cambridge | A Level School". Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  6. ^ "St. Andrew's College Cambridge - GOV.UK". www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  7. ^ Sam-Duru, Prisca (30 June 2015). "Nigerian-British Nuzo pioneers new literary genre, Horror Books". Vanguard News. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  8. ^ Royce, Eden (11 July 2015). "Unhallowed Graves – Book Review". Hellnotes. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  9. ^ Onoh, Nuzo (31 October 2017). Dead Corpse. Canaan-star publishing, UK. ASIN 1909484873.
  10. ^ "Ralph Fiennes, Nuzo Onoh, Gilberto Gil; The Arts Hour". BBC. BBC World Service. July 2016.
  11. ^ "Dead Corpse by Nuzo Onoh". The Splits. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Revelations: Horror Writers for Climate Action' Tells Us How To Accept Being Haunted by the Future". Horror Obsessive. 15 April 2022.
  13. ^ "2021 British Fantasy Awards Winners". 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "2023 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 25 June 2023.
  15. ^ White, Ian (27 June 2016). "Nuzo Onoh - THE SLEEPLESS". Starburst Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  16. ^ a b White, Ian (27 June 2016). "THE SLEEPLESS". Starburst Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  17. ^ Adejunmobi, Moradewun; Carli Coetzee, eds. (2019). Routledge Handbook of African Literature. ISBN 9781351859370.
  18. ^ Onoh, Nuzo (25 February 2021). "British Pubs Are Off-Limits For Many Older African Women – But Should They Be?". blackballad.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  19. ^ Onoh, Nuzo (3 October 2017). "6 Beautiful African Death Rituals". Female First. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  20. ^ Onoh, Nuzo (31 March 2016). "An African Witchdoctor - The Good, The Bad and The Bumbling Idiot!". Female First. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  21. ^ Sutherland, Doris V. (2 May 2017). "Fascist Ghosts: Racism and the Far Right in British Horror, Part Three". Bookmarked. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  22. ^ "Acclaimed writer Nuzo Onoh comes to Miskatonic London to present: AFRICAN HORROR: SHADES OF SUPERSTITION, April 11th @ the Horse Hospital - Diabolique Magazine". 10 April 2019.
  23. ^ a b c d e Macheso, Wesley (14 November 2016). "Beyond the Magical and the Horrific: Reading Nuzo Onoh's The Sleepless". AfricanWriter. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  24. ^ "The British Urban Film Festival awards 2017 winners announced". Maroon News. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
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