Nigeria

Africa

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and a major cultural force on the continent. Its diverse ethnic groups — Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa — and colonial history have produced a rich and varied literary tradition.

5
books
2
authors

Books from Nigeria

1
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The lives of three characters intersect during the Nigerian-Biafran War of the late 1960s — a war that resulted in the deaths of up to three million people, many from starvation. Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction.
2006
2
Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Fifteen-year-old Kambili lives under the tyranny of her devout Catholic father in post-independence Nigeria. Her slow awakening to freedom and selfhood drives Adichie's debut novel, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
2003
3
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian Ifemelu moves to the United States to study and writes a popular blog about race in America, while her first love Obinze attempts to emigrate to Britain. A sharp, funny, and incisive novel about race, identity, and the African immigrant experience.
2013
4
Arrow of God
Chinua Achebe
The Chief Priest of Ulu in an Igbo village struggles to maintain his authority against the encroachment of British colonial rule and rival Christian missions. Achebe's most technically complex novel and, some critics argue, his finest.
1964
5
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo, a respected warrior in the Igbo village of Umuofia, sees his world dismantled by the arrival of European missionaries and colonial administrators. The novel has sold over 20 million copies and is taught in schools across the world.
1958

Authors from Nigeria

C
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigerian novelist and essayist (born 1977) known for her nuanced portrayals of contemporary African life, gender, and identity. Her 2009 TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story" has been viewed over 30 million times.

C
Chinua Achebe

Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (1930–2013) widely regarded as the father of modern African literature in English. His debut novel dismantled colonial narratives about Africa and established African literature as a serious field of study.

About Nigeria
ISO Code
NG
Continent
Africa
Literary Context

Nigerian literature in English began with Chinua Achebe, whose Things Fall Apart dismantled colonial narratives and told African stories from an African perspective. A new generation led by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie continues to explore identity, migration, and the complexity of modern Nigerian life. Nigeria is the literary powerhouse of Anglophone Africa.

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