Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was featured in The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 Fiction Issue. Her story will appear later in the summer.
When were you born?
September 15, 1977.
Where?
At the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, in Enugu, Nigeria.
Where do you live now?
I divide my time between Columbia, Maryland, and Lagos, Nigeria..
What was the first piece of fiction you read that had an impact on you?
Camara Laye’s “The Dark Child.”
How long did it take you to write your first book?
About a year and a half.
Did you ever consider not becoming a writer?
I have been writing since I was old enough to spell. I have never considered not writing.
What, in your opinion, makes a piece of fiction work?
Emotion. The ability to make me feel and care. The ability to move me in some way. The ability to touch something inside me that is often left untouched by newspaper articles.
What was the inspiration for the piece included in the “20 Under 40” series?
I wanted to write a story in which the city of Lagos was a character. Many other things—my friend Yewande’s incredibly green new compound, watching young women in Lagos, some personal experiences.
What are you working on now?
A novel.
Who are your favorite writers over forty?
Jamaica Kincaid, Chinua Achebe, Ian McEwan, Ama Ata Aidoo, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, José Eduardo Agualusa, Mary Gaitskill.
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