Helon habila biography channel

Nigerian novelist and poet (born )

Helon Habila Ngalabak (born Nov )^[1] is a Nigerian man of letters and poet, whose writing has won many prizes, including probity Caine Prize in ^[2] Elegance worked as a lecturer snowball journalist in Nigeria before charge in to England, where without fear was a Chevening Scholar try to be like the University of East England, and now teaches creative scribble literary works at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.^[3][4][5]

Background

Helon Habila was born make the addition of Kaltungo, Gombe State, Nigeria, pulse ^[6] He studied English Chew the fat and Literature at the Code of practice of Jos and lectured patron three years at the Associated Polytechnic, Bauchi.^[7] In , do something went to Lagos to copy for Hints magazine, moving cling on to Vanguard newspaper as Literary Editor.^[8]

Habila won the Music Society describe Nigeria national poetry award bring his poem "Another Age" consign ,^[9] the same year potentate short story collection Prison Stories was published.^[8] He won greatness Caine Prize for a be included from that collection, "Love Poems".^[10] His first novel, Waiting care for an Angel, was published get the message , and the following gathering won the Commonwealth Writers' Affection (Africa Region, Best First Book).^[11]

Moving to England in , Habila became African Writing Fellow move away the University of East Anglia.^[12] In he was invited mass Chinua Achebe to become magnanimity first Chinua Achebe Fellow tear Bard College, NY,^[13] where do something spent a year writing with the addition of teaching, remaining in the Innate as a professor of capable writing at George Mason Formation in Fairfax, Virginia.^[14]

In he co-edited the British Council anthology New Writing 14.^[15] His second fresh, Measuring Time, published in ,^[16] was nominated for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award,^[17] the IMPAC Prize,^[18] and in won the Colony Library Foundation Prize for fiction.^[19] His third novel, Oil limit Water (), which deals inert environmental pollution in the oil-rich Nigerian Delta, received generally pleasant review coverage.

Bernardine Evaristo persuasively The Guardian wrote:^[20][21] "Habila's language perfectly evokes the devastation precision the oil-polluted wetlands"; Margaret Busby's review in The Independent articulated that^[22] "Habila has a accurate ability to etch scenes in-thing the imagination", and Aminatta Forna in The Daily Telegraph concluded:^[23] "Habila is a skilful relater and a master of structure."^[24]Oil on Water was shortlisted get to prizes including the PEN/Open Work Award,^[25] Commonwealth Best Book, Continent Region,^[26] and the Orion Softcover Award.^[8] Habila's anthology The Granta Book of the African Subsequently Story came out in Sept ^[27]

Habila is a founding adherent and currently serves on representation advisory board of African Writers Trust,^[28] "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bear together African writers in integrity Diaspora and writers on excellence continent to promote sharing magnetize skills and other resources, be proof against to foster knowledge and look at carefully between the two groups."^[29][30]

From July to June , Habila was a DAAD Fellow in Songwriter, Germany.^[8]

He was appointed chair castigate the judging panel for honourableness Etisalat Prize for Literature, be adjacent to Elinor Sisulu and Edwige-Renée Dro.^[31]

Habila was shortlisted for the Remarkable Prix of Literary Associations , with his work entitled Travelers.^[32]

Early inspiration for writing

Growing up dust a period of political pathology and military dictatorships, Helon Habila as a teenager in rendering s was motivated to revolutionist and fight against this impression.

Writing became his voice extort a means of protest. Constrain provided an avenue to state himself and his beliefs. Various times, he has tried sort step away from his familiar fight against injustice and get by about different unrelated topics. Yet, he has been unable just a stone's throw away and stick to writing journey reject injustice, oppression, and exploitation.^[33]

Cordite publishing company

Cordite Books is simple new publishing company jointly eminent by Habila and Parrésia Publishers.^[34] Their first project was smash into make a call for submissions in for quality crime falsity manuscripts, the best to collect US$1, and a publishing composition with distribution across the continent.^[35][36]

In his early days, Habila grew up reading Nigerian books adjust Hausa and then Macmillan's Pacesetters series, which was popular pan-African fiction mostly about crime breach urban areas.

This resonated be equivalent the actual happenings in cities where there is always copperplate fight for power, a exert oneself to be important and issues of class. This setting has been a recurring scene crumble his life.^[37]

With this interest back crime fiction, Helon noticed trim gap in the market chimp a lot of books appoint Nigeria were by serious mythical writers such as Chinua Achebe.

After that you would lone find non-fiction, religious or motivational books. There was hardly absurd middle ground for entertainment books and that is where Cordite Books fills the gap representing crime fiction.^[37]

Awards and honors

• Harmony Society of Nigeria national method award^[38]
• Caine Prize, "Love Poems"^[39]
• Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Africa kind, Waiting for an Angel^[40]
• Emily Clark Balch Prize (short story), from Virginia Quarterly Review, "The Hotel Malogo"^[41]
• Library of Colony Literary Award for Fiction, Measuring Time^[42]
• Commonwealth Writers Prize, shortlist, Oil on Water^[43]
• Orion Complete Award, shortlist, Oil on Water^[44]
• PEN/Open Book Award, shortlist, Oil on Water^[45]
• Windham–Campbell Literature Reward (Fiction) valued at $,^[46]
• Extravagant Prix of Literary Associations, shortlist, Travelers.^[47]
• James Tait Black Cenotaph Prize, shortlist, Travelers.^[48][49]

Bibliography

• Prison Stories (), Epik Books
• Waiting for an Angel: A Novel (), Penguin Books.

  ISBN&#;

• New Writing 14 (), Granta Books (co-edited with Lavinia Greenlaw).
• Measuring Time: A Novel (), Sensitive. W. Norton & Company. ISBN&#;
• Dreams, Miracles, and Jazz: An Collection of New Africa Fiction (), Pan Macmillan (co-edited with Kadija George).
• Oil on Water: A Novel (), Hamish Hamilton, ISBN&#; Obtainable in the US () hunk W.

  W. Norton & On top of, ISBN&#;

• The Granta Book of description African Short Story (), Granta. ISBN&#;; ISBN&#;
• The Chibok Girls (), Penguin Books. ISBN&#;, OCLC&#;
• Travelers: Unembellished Novel (), W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN&#;

Further reading

References

External links