Abdulrazak Gurnah

Abdulrazak Gurnah is a Zanzibar-born novelist and literary scholar whose work examines colonialism, displacement and the refugee experience. An emeritus professor at the University of Kent, he received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature.

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About Abdulrazak Gurnah

Profile information current to 2026-08-22.

Tanzania and United Kingdom · Novelist, Literary scholar, University professor · 1 affiliation

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Known for: Postcolonial literature; Literary representations of colonialism and displacement; African, Caribbean and Indian colonial and postcolonial discourses
Country: Tanzania and United Kingdom

Novelist
Literary scholar
University professor

At a glance

Gurnah received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for writing about colonialism's effects and the refugee experience across cultures and continents.
Born in 1948 and raised in Zanzibar, he arrived in England as a refugee in the late 1960s and began writing in English while in exile.
The University of Kent lists him as Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures.
His 1994 novel Paradise was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Penguin Random House published the Riverhead Books edition of his novel Theft in March 2025.

Background and exile

Gurnah was born in 1948 and grew up in Zanzibar, in present-day Tanzania. Swahili was his first language. He left Zanzibar as a young man, arrived in England as a refugee in the late 1960s and began writing in English while in exile.

Academic career

Gurnah completed a PhD at the University of Kent in 1982 and developed an academic specialism in postcolonial writing and colonialism-related discourse concerning Africa, the Caribbean and India. The university lists him as Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures, although its staff page was last updated in 2022.

Literary work

Gurnah's fiction is associated with colonialism, displacement and experiences of exile and refuge. Paradise, published in 1994, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The consulted publisher record identifies Theft, whose Riverhead Books edition appeared in March 2025, as a later novel.

Prizes and public roles

Gurnah served on the judging panel for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. In 2021, the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature for his examination of colonialism's effects and the refugee experience across cultures and continents; he delivered his Nobel lecture that December.

Affiliations

University of Kent Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures present

Timeline

1982 Completed a PhD at the University of Kent.
1994 Paradise was published and shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
2016 Served as a judge for the Man Booker Prize.
2021-10-07 Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
2021-12-07 Delivered his Nobel Prize lecture.
2025-03-18 The Riverhead Books edition of Theft was published.

Additional verified details

Current context

The University of Kent lists Abdulrazak Gurnah as Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures. The listing is based on the university staff page, which was last updated in 2022; the exact institutional title should be rechecked before publication if current status is material.
Theft is the latest novel identified in the consulted sources; the Riverhead Books edition was published on March 18, 2025. This is a finding from the consulted publisher and institutional sources, not a comprehensive worldwide bibliography.

Biographical facts

Gurnah was born in 1948 and grew up in Zanzibar; University of Kent material identifies his birthplace country as Tanzania.
He arrived in England as a refugee in the late 1960s after leaving Zanzibar as a young man.
Swahili was his first language, and he began writing in English while in exile.
He completed a PhD at the University of Kent in 1982.
His documented academic interests include postcolonial writing and colonialism-related discourses concerning Africa, the Caribbean and India.
The Swedish Academy awarded Gurnah the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for his examination of colonialism's effects and the refugee experience across cultures and continents.
His 1994 novel Paradise was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
He served on the judging panel for the 2016 Man Booker Prize.