Chidera Okolie

Chidera Nneoma Okolie (born 27 March 1993)[1] is a Nigerian writer who gained national attention when her debut novel When Silence Becomes Too Loud was endorsed in 2015 by then President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan.[2][3]

Chidera Okolie
Chidera Okolie in 2019 at the Idios Conference in Abuja
Born (1993-03-27) 27 March 1993
Enugu, Enugu, Nigeria
OccupationNovelist, Lawyer, Freelancer
Years active2014–present
Notable work
When Silence Becomes Too Loud
AwardsFiction Writer of the year

Biography

Okolie was born in Enugu in Southeast Nigeria.[4]

As a young child, Okolie began showing signs of her love for literature, as she did considerably well in her literature courses in school and also began writing short stories for her classmates, while in high school.[4]

Okolie went on to study Law at the University of Nigeria and was admitted to the Nigerian bar in November 2016.[5][2]

Literary career

Okolie published her first novel, When Silence Becomes Too Loud, in December 2014 while a law student.[6] In March 2015 the novel was endorsed by then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan,[3] in an entrepreneurship initiative in Abuja.

In September 2017, she released of her second publication, Not Forgiven, a collection of short psychological thriller stories.[7][5]

Idios Creatives

In February 2018, Okolie founded Idios Creatives, a platform for young aspiring writers and creatives to express their creativity.[5][4] In April 2018, she initiated the Idios Prize for Flash Fiction and Poetry,[7][5] which attracted participation from at least 397 school children.[7][5] One hundred stories were selected by Okolie and compiled into a book titled The Future: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems by Children of Selected Nigerian Schools, which was released in November 2018.[7]

Honours

In June 2015, Okolie was nominated for the African Achievers Awards. In 2016, she was named Fiction Writer of the Year and one of the 100 most influential Nigerian writers under 40 at the first Nigerian Writers Awards.[1] She was also named Fiction Writer of the Year at the Xperience Womanity Awards.[1][8]

In January 2019, she was listed among the 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians by AvanceMedia in the category Law & Governance.[9]

References
  1. "100 Most Influential Nigerian Writers Under 40. (2016 List)". NWAward.com. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  2. Iheanacho, Chinma (8 March 2019) [8 March 2018]. "Meet 24 year-old Chidera Okolie, another Chimamanda Adichie in the making". Legit.
  3. "Meet Chidera Okolie – 24 Year-Old Barrister & Award Winning Writer". The Witness Newspaper. 8 March 2019 [27 November 2018].
  4. Oliseh, Njideka (8 March 2019) [8 March 2019]. "The Creative force that is the Idios". Business Day Newspaper.
  5. Onochie, Bridget (8 March 2019) [20 January 2019]. "With The Future, Okolie raises new storytellers, poets". The Guardian Newspaper.
  6. Quadri, Zaynab (2 June 2015) [28 May 2015]. "Chidera Okolie: When silence becomes too loud". Pulse.ng.
  7. Pascal, Igue (8 March 2019) [8 March 2019]. "The Future: Raising New Breeds of Poets, Storytellers". Leadership Newspaper.
  8. Julius, Success (6 May 2016). "Exclusive photos from the Xperience Womanity Awards 2016". Xperience Online Media. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  9. "2018 100 most influential young Nigerians finalists announced". PulseNG via News Agency of Nigeria. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
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