Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) immigrant parents. She holds a PhD in English and was a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. She has been the winner of many awards for her short stories and young adult books, and won a World Fantasy Award for Who Fears Death. Nnedi's books are inspired by her Nigerian heritage and her many trips to Africa.
"Praise for Like Thunder ""An epic collision of new tech and elemental magic—suspensful, immersive, and chillingly relevant. Another stunning feat of imagination from Nnedi Okorafor."" —Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House ""Okorafor pulls no punches...An emotional near-future novel that will keep readers turning pages even as their mountain of questions grows larger."" —Kirkus ""The impressive finale to Nebula Award winner Okorafor’s Desert Magician’s Duology.... Dikéogu’s perspective lends greater depth to Okorafor’s apocalyptic Saharan world."" —Publishers Weekly ""Like Thunder is an excellent demonstration of [Okorafor's] gifts as a novelist: it is inventive, fast-paced, and deeply concerned with difficult journeys to self-discovery, as well as the transformative costs of such adventures."" —Los Angeles Review of Books ""Compelling and captivating from the first page...a heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful message delivered."" — Marlene Harris, Reading Reality Praise for Shadow Speaker, Book 1 of the Desert Magician's Duology ""A mind-blowing expedition into a not too distant future world."" —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Shadow Speaker is wonderful, highly original stuff, episode after amazing episode, full of color, life and death…. Nnedi also deals head-on with the fact that power and pain are closely linked, as are magic and blood. I think this book is marvelous.” —Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl’s Moving Castle and the Chronicles of Chrestomanci “There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics.” —Ursula K. Le Guin, author of The Left Hand of Darkness “Shadow Speaker is endlessly imaginative, full of mystery and delight on every page. Nnedi Okorafor is a voice that will delight readers of all ages and backgrounds.” —Tananarive Due, American Book Award-winning author of Joplin’s Ghost"