Helen Oyeyemi

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Helen Oyeyemi

FRSL
Helen Oyeyemi in January 2021
Helen Oyeyemi in January 2021
BornHelen Oyeyemi
(1984-12-10) 10 December 1984 (age 39)
Ibadan, Nigeria
OccupationWriter
GenreFiction
Notable worksWhat Is Not Yours Is Not Yours (2016)
Notable awardsPEN Open Book Award

Helen Oyeyemi FRSL (born 10 December 1984) is a British novelist and writer of short stories.

Life[edit]

Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and was raised in Lewisham, South London from when she was four.[1][2] Oyeyemi wrote her first novel, The Icarus Girl, while studying for her A-levels[3] at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. She attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.[4] Since 2013 her home has been in Prague.[2][5][6]

Career[edit]

While she was in college, Oyeyemi's plays Juniper's Whitening and Victimese were performed by fellow students and later published by Methuen in 2014.[4][7] In 2007, Bloomsbury published Oyeyemi's second novel, The Opposite House, which is inspired by Cuban mythology.[8][9] Her third novel, White Is for Witching, was published by Picador in May 2009. It was a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award finalist[10] and won a 2010 Somerset Maugham Award.[11] In 2009, Oyeyemi was recognized as one of the women on Venus Zine's "25 under 25" list.[12]

Her fourth novel, Mr Fox, was published by Picador in June 2011,[13] In 2013 she was included in the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.[14] Her fifth novel, Boy, Snow, Bird, was published by Picador in 2014.[15][16] Boy, Snow, Bird was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2014.[17]

Oyeyemi published What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a story collection, in 2016.[18][19] What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours won the 2016 PEN Open Book Award: for an exceptional book-length work of literature by an author of colour.[20] Gingerbread, a novel, was published on 5 March 2019.[21] Peaces, a novel, was published on 1 April 2021.[22]

Her latest novel, Parasol Against the Axe, was published in February 2024. It is the first of her books to be set in the Czech Republic, despite living there for more than a decade.[23]

Judging Roles[edit]

Oyeyemi was a judge on the Booktrust Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for 2015[24]

Oyeyemi served as a judge for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.[25]

Oyeyemi was a judge for the 2018 International Booker Prize.[26]

Oyeyemi was a judge for the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize, along with Tom Lee (chair), Maddie Mortimer and Ellen Peirson-Hagger.[27]


Invited Lectures[edit]

On 25 April 2017, Oyeyemi delivered "Shine or Go Crazy", focused on Korean television dramas at Seattle Arts and Lectures, Seattle. A 'reading list' of the shows mentioned in her talk was published following the lecture.[28]

In 2023, Oyeyemi delivered the annual New Statesman/Goldsmiths Prize lecture at the Southbank Centre, London.[29] Her theme was "Trying".

Oyeyemi will deliver the 2024 Richard Hillary Memorial Lecture at Trinity College, Oxford.[30]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

Plays[edit]

  • Juniper's Whitening (2004)[37]
  • Victimese (2005)[38]

Short story collections[edit]

  • What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours (2016)[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Quinn, Annalisa (7 March 2014). "The Professionally Haunted Life Of Helen Oyeyemi". NPR. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Hoggard, Liz (2 March 2014). "Helen Oyeyemi: 'I'm interested in the way women disappoint one another'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  3. ^ Jordan, Justine (11 June 2011). "Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  4. ^ a b bloomsbury.com. "Juniper's Whitening". Bloomsbury. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  5. ^ Bradshaw, M. René (16 March 2016). "What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi". The London Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ^ Wilson, Jennifer (3 March 2024). "Helen Oyeyemi Thinks We Should Read More and Stay in Touch Less". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Prolific writer Oyeyemi shortlisted for BBC short story award | Premium Times Nigeria". 18 September 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Oyeyemi's 'Opposite House'". Tell Me More. 26 June 2007. NPR.
  9. ^ D'Erasmo, Stacey (27 February 2014). "Helen Oyeyemi's 'Boy, Snow, Bird' turns a fairy tale inside out". The Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ "2009 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Helen Oyeyemi - Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ Woman.NG (16 March 2016). "You'll Want To Get Helen Oyeyemi's New Book 'What is Not Yours is Not Yours' After Reading These Reviews". Woman.NG. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  13. ^ Sethi, Anita (13 May 2012). "Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi – review". The Observer.
  14. ^ "Granta 123: Best of Young British Novelists 4". Granta (123). 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013.
  15. ^ Clark, Alex (22 March 2014). "Boy, Snow, Bird review – Helen Oyeyemi plays with myth and fairytale". The Guardian.
  16. ^ a b Quinn, Annalisa (7 March 2014). "The Professionally Haunted Life of Helen Oyeyemi". NPR.
  17. ^ Swanson, Clare (5 March 2015). "L.A. Times Book Prize Finalists Announced". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  18. ^ Oyeyemi, Helen (8 March 2016). What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours. Place of publication not identified: Riverhead Books. ISBN 9781594634635.
  19. ^ Van Den Berg, Laura (18 March 2016). "'What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours,' by Helen Oyeyemi". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "2017 PEN America Literary Awards Winners", Pen America, 22 February 2017.
  21. ^ Charles, Ron (26 February 2019). "Review | Helen Oyeyemi's 'Gingerbread' recipe: Fairy tales with a dash of surrealism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. ^ a b Smith, Josh (2020). "Helen Oyeyemi moves to Faber for Peaces". Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  23. ^ Cummins, Anthony (20 January 2024). "Helen Oyeyemi: 'I like other humans mediated through art'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  24. ^ Irvine, Lindesay (27 May 2015). "Jenny Erpenbeck Wins Independent Foreign Fiction Prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  25. ^ Medley, Mark (14 January 2015). "The Giller Prize expands its jury to five people". The Globe and Mail.
  26. ^ "Helen Oyeyemi | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  27. ^ "The Goldsmiths Prize 2023". Gold.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  28. ^ Seattle Arts and Lectures. "Helen Oyeyemi's K Drama List". Seattle Arts and Lectures.
  29. ^ Southbank Centre. "Helen Oyeyemi: Trying". Southbank Centre. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  30. ^ Talks. "Helen Oyeyemi: Richard Hillary Memorial Lecture". Talks.ox.ac.uk.
  31. ^ Downer, Lesley (17 July 2005). "The Icarus Girl: The Play Date From Hell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  32. ^ Shamsie, Kamila (12 May 2007). "Review: The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  33. ^ Ervin, Andrew (8 September 2009). "Miri's Hunger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  34. ^ Bender, Aimee (28 October 2011). "A Writer of Slasher Books Finds More Than a Muse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  35. ^ "Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  36. ^ Oyeyemi, Helen (2024). Parasol Against the Axe. Riverhead Books (published 5 March 2024). ISBN 9780593192368.
  37. ^ "Juniper's Whitening by Helen Oyeyemi", Methuen.
  38. ^ Brown, Helen (9 January 2005). "A writer's life: Helen Oyeyemi". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  39. ^ Berg, Laura Van Den (18 March 2016). "What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, by Helen Oyeyemi". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 May 2020.

External links[edit]

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