Some days ago – amidst the frenzy of the return of the seventh season of the universally acclaimed TV series, Game of Thrones – it emerged that Nigeria’s Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Who Fears Death has been picked for TV adaptation by HBO, the producers of the popular series. Even more intriguing, George R.R. Martin, the author of the books on which the series is based, will serve as an executive producer on the new project.
As Game of Thrones is expected to be concluded next year, after its eighth season, Okorafor’s work is already being looked upon by many as the next big thing.
A professor of creative writing and literature at University of Buffalo, Okorafor is no stranger to success. In 2011, her novel (Who Fears Death) emerged winner of World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. In 2016, her short fiction, Binti, won both the Nebula Award and Hugo Award for Best Novella. Her novel for young adults, Zahrah the Windseeker was the winner of Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa. Other awards to her credit include the Macmillan Writers Prize, Carl Brandon Parallax Award and Children’s Africana Book Award.
Additionally, her works have been nominated for Andre Norton Award, Golden Duck Award, NAACP Image Award, Tiptree Honour Book, Red Tentacle Award for Best Novel, and the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel, among others.
Long time coming
News of Okorafor’s HBO deal was greeted with widespread excitement across the globe, but especially in Nigeria. Indeed, at a point, she complained (mildly) that her phone did not take the hubbub well.
“There has been so much activity on my Twitter and Facebook pages today that my iPhone (which is kind of old) decided it had finally had enough,” she posted on Facebook, moments after the announcement.
However, to those who might wonder at the suddenness of it all, she was quick to stress that it did not happen “overnight”.
“I am finally free to announce this: My World Fantasy Award winning novel, Who Fears Death, has been optioned by HBO and is now in early development as a TV series with George R. R. Martin as executive producer. Note: this did not happen overnight. It’s been nearly four years coming,” she posted on her social media accounts, last week.”
Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin in a post on Live Journal confirmed the development, describing Okorafor as a “unique voice.”
He said, “Yes, HBO is developing Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Who Fears Death as a series. Yes, I am attached to the project as an Executive Producer.
“I am pleased and excited to confirm that much. I met Nnedi a few years ago, and I’m a great admirer of her work. She is an exciting new talent in our field, with a unique voice. Even in this Golden Age of television drama, there’s nothing like Who Fears Death on the small screen at present, and if I can play a part, however small, in helping to bring this project to fruition, I’ll be thrilled.”
Speaking further on her relationship with Martin, Okorafor described the veteran as a mentor who has been a part of her career for some years.
“I think I need to say this because I see a lot of people saying weird things: they didn’t just choose George R. R. Martin strictly because he’s a big name and he’s already with HBO and he didn’t just agree to executive produce because of all these reasons people are making up.
“I’ve known George for over three years now. Since before all this with Who Fears Death. He’s been a sort of a mentor to me since the day I met him. We’ve had long phone conversations about writing, Hollywood, teaching, academia, juggling it all. If I had questions, I could just call him up and ask, and I have. We are well met. This isn’t just a project throwing my book into George’s hands just because he knows me. And note: George is really a cool and wonderful person.”
Fierce, bold
Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, Nnedi Okorafor holds a PhD in English from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is also a 2001 graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop in Lansing, Michigan.
Her 304-page novel, Who Fears Death, was published in 2010 by DAW, an imprint of Penguin Books, and has elements of science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and race and ethnicity.
Renowned American science fiction editor and Professor of Humanities at Roosevelt University, Gary K Wolfe, said of her: “Okorafor’s genius has been to find the iconic images and traditions of African culture, mostly Nigerian and often Igbo, and tweak them just enough to become a seamless part of her vocabulary of fantastika.”
Okorafor’s personal style is as unique as her writing. Her new novel, set to be released in October, is entitled Akata Witch, which according to her is “set in present-day Nigeria, featuring juju, masquerades, and friends.” The young professor wears her hair long and bold, the large rolls often extending beyond her waist. She has a teenage daughter whom she named “Anyaugo” (eagle eye), “because when she was born…she was peeking at me through one eye.”