Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian novelist and essayist known for books including Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, and Dream Count. Her wider public profile includes major literary awards, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the TED talk The Danger of a Single Story.

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About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Profile information current to 2026-08-23.

Nigeria · Novelist, Essayist · 1 affiliation

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Known for: Literary fiction; Essays and public talks
Country: Nigeria

Novelist
Essayist

At a glance

Adichie is a Nigerian novelist and essayist whose published fiction includes Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, and Dream Count.
Half of a Yellow Sun won the Women's Prize for Fiction, while Americanah received the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for the 2013 publishing year.
She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008.
She delivered The Danger of a Single Story at TEDGlobal in July 2009.

Background and education

Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria, in 1977 and grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She studied medicine there before moving to the United States, where she completed an undergraduate degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University in 2001, a master's degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University in 2003, and a master's degree at Yale University in 2008. The reviewed sources differ on whether the Yale discipline should be described as African History or African Studies.

Literary career

Her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, was published in 2003 and later received the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in Africa. Half of a Yellow Sun won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2007, and Americanah received the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for the 2013 publishing year. Penguin Random House lists Dream Count as published in the United States on March 4, 2025.

Fellowships and recognition

Adichie was a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University during the 2005–06 academic year. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.

Essays and public talks

Alongside her fiction and essays, Adichie has developed a public profile through talks including The Danger of a Single Story, delivered at TEDGlobal in July 2009.

Affiliations

Princeton University Hodder Fellow 2005–2006

Timeline

1977 Born in Enugu, Nigeria.
2001 Completed an undergraduate degree at Eastern Connecticut State University.
2003 Published her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus.
2005 Began a Princeton University Hodder Fellowship for the 2005–06 academic year.
2007 Half of a Yellow Sun won the Women's Prize for Fiction.
2008 Completed a Yale master's degree and received a MacArthur Fellowship.
2009-07 Delivered The Danger of a Single Story at TEDGlobal.
2013 Americanah received the National Book Critics Circle fiction award for the 2013 publishing year.
2017 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
2025-03-04 Dream Count was published in the United States.

Additional verified details

Current context

Penguin Random House lists Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as published on March 4, 2025. This publisher listing supports the book's publication status but does not establish that it remains her newest work in every market or format.

Biographical facts

She was born in Enugu, Nigeria, in 1977.
She grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and studied medicine there before moving to the United States for further education.
She graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in communication and political science in 2001.
She earned a master's degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2003.
She earned a master's degree from Yale University in 2008.
Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was published in 2003.
Purple Hibiscus received the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in Africa in 2005.
Half of a Yellow Sun won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2007.
She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008.
Americanah received the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for the 2013 publishing year.
She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.