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Ukamaka Evelyn Olisakwe (born 24 October 1982) is a Nigerian feminist author, short-story writer, and screenwriter. In 2014 she was chosen as one of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40, showcased in the Africa39 project^[1] and included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey).^[2][3][4]

Olisakwe was born and raised in Kano State, northern Nigeria.^[5] Her parents are from eastern Nigeria. She completed her secondary education in northern Nigeria and subsequently earned a degree in Computer Science from Abia State Polytechnic, in Aba, Nigeria.^[6] Olisakwe was a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of South Dakota, specializing in Literary Studies and Creative Writing. Her dissertation, titled "The Things They Knew", is a work of historical fiction that spans over 120 years, from the 1890s to the 2010s in Nigeria.^[7]

Olisakwe's debut novel, Eyes of a Goddess, was published in 2012.^[8][9][10]

She has written numerous short stories and articles, most of which have appeared in blogs and online journals, including Olisa.tv, Saraba, Sentinel Nigeria and Short Story Day Africa.^[11] She has been featured in the BBC.^[12][13] Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and African Hadithi.^[14] She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash,^[15][16] a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.^[17] Olisakwe administers the blog for the Writivism Mentorship Programme, a project of the Centre for African Cultural Excellence, and was a co-facilitator at the Lagos Workshop.^[18] She was a guest and panel member at the 2014 Ake Arts and Books Festival^[19][20] and the Hay Festival.^[21]

Olisakwe was selected as one of the 39 most promising writers under the age of 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora, in the Africa39 project^[22] – a Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club initiative in celebration of the UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 – and is included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey). Olisakwe's contribution, "This Is How I Remember it", was described by one reviewer as "a clear-eyed account of a girl's romantic awakening in Nigeria" and a story "so good it leaves us wanting more",^[23] while another reviewer described it as a "gripping story about adolescent romance, deception and yearning".^[24]

In 2016, Olisakwe was a resident at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.^[6] In 2018, Olisakwe won the Vermont College of Fine Arts Emerging Writers Scholarship to pursue an MFA in Writing and Publishing.^[25]

In July 2020, Olisakwe founded Isele Magazine.^[26]

Olisakwe was a guest at the 2015 Writivism Festival in Kampala, Uganda, where she taught a fiction master-class.^[27] On 28 May 2015, she spoke on the topic "You Could Stop The Next Maternal Death Statistic" at TEDxGarki.^[28]

• 2014: Listed among Africa39 project of 39 writers aged under 40.^{[29][30][31][32]}
• 2014: Listed among This Is Africa's "Best 100 Books 2010–2014" for Eyes of a Goddess.^[33]

• — (2012). Eyes of a Goddess. Piraeus Books. ISBN 9780985203818.
• — (2020) Ogadinma, or Everything Will Be All Right.^[34] The Indigo Press.

• — (May 2011). "Girl to Woman". Sentinel Nigeria.^[35]
• — (October 2014). "This is how I remember it". Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara.^[36]

• — (2013). "Of Rising and the Home-Based Nigerian Writer". Saraba. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014.
• — (11 March 2014). "The North is Dead". African Hadithi.
• — (1 December 2014). "Growing Up Fearful in Nigeria". The New York Times.
• — (8 April 2015). "In Nigeria, an Election to Believe In". The New York Times.