Akwaeke Emezi is a writer and artist using storytelling to center queer indigenous Black realities and radical possibilities with the philosophy that re-indigenization is essential for liberation. Their art practice is deeply rooted in the metaphysics of Black spirit, using our indigenous ontologies as a lens to focus on embodiment, ritual, and rememory.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Emezi's work spans literature, music, film, and visual art. They released their debut EP Stop Dying, You Were Very Expensive! in March 2024 and their eighth book Little Rot was published in June 2024 by Riverhead Books.
Emezi moved to Brooklyn in the early 2010s as a poet and filmmaker, with their short film Ududeagu winning Best Short Experimental at the 2014 BlackStar Film Festival. In 2018, they burst onto the literary scene with their debut novel Freshwater, going on to publish seven books in the next four years, including the instant NYT bestseller The Death Of Vivek Oji and National Book Award finalist Pet. Their romance novel You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty was a 2023 NAACP Image Award nominee and is in development for the screen at Amazon Studios, with Emezi executive producing alongside Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society.
Lauded as 'one of our greatest living writers' (Shondaland) and 'a once-in-a-generation voice' (Vulture), Emezi is represented by Jacqueline Ko at The Wylie Agency, and by United Talent Agency. Their forthcoming books in 2025 include Somadina (Knopf) and Son Of The Morning (Avon).
They are based in liminal spaces.