Celebrated young author to speak at PSU

  Tuesday, October 7, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Chinelo Okparanta, a rising star in the literary world, will read from her works at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom of Pittsburg State University’s Overman Student Center. Okparanta’s visit is part of the PSU Department of English’s Distinguished Visiting Writers Series.

Born in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria, Okparanta emigrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of 10. She earned a bachelor’s of science degree from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree from Rutgers and a master’s of fine arts degree from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Okparanta was one of Granta's six new voices for 2012 and her stories have appeared in Granta, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Her story “America” was short-listed for the Caine Prize in African writing.

Her debut short story collection, “Happiness, Like Water,” was nominated for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the 2014 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, and won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. It was an Editors' Choice for The New York Times Book Review and was also listed as one of the Guardian's Best African Fiction of 2013. Other honors include the 2013 Society of Midland Authors Award (finalist) and a 2014 O. Henry Award.

Okaparanta’s reading is free and open to the public.