(Tyler Hanson Mathur | Student Life)

Science fiction author Nnedi Okorafor visited Washington University for a moderated discussion and book signing event with the African Student Association (ASA), Feb. 7.

Okorafor spoke to both WashU students and St. Louis community members about the process of writing Africanfuturism works and of being an author. The African Student Association collaborated with small business Left Bank Books for the book signing. 

Okorafor is best known for coining the term Africanfuturism, which differs from the concept of Afrofuturism in that it features stories rooted in Africa, rather than stories of Africans in Western nations. Africanfuturism typically involves futuristic storylines, advanced technology, and themes of liberation.

Okorafor based both the concept of Africanfuturism and her science fiction books on growing up in America to Nigerian parents, including her “Binti” novella trilogy, “The Shadow Speaker,” and “Zahrah the Windseeker.”

Joy Ani, the internal publicity chair of ASA and one of the organizers of the event, said that she pushed for Okorafor to come because she is also Nigerian.

“I thought it’d be great to have her for ASA since she can talk about her topics relating to being both American-born but also having fully Nigerian parents and going back and forth and also [having] feelings of not exactly fitting into one American culture, but also not fully Nigerian culture,” Ani said. 

The event drew in a crowd of fans and writers from the community. Bashar Sulyman, the president of the ASA was satisfied with the high turnout. 

“I think [the event] worked really well,” he said. “I was glad to see that there were a lot of writers, people interested in filming and media and all that stuff, that came in to ask her questions.”

Many of the attendees were fans of Okorafor’s work or aspiring writers hoping to gain insights into excelling as an author. 

Sophomore Anaelda Ramos, who attended the event because she is a fan of Okorafor’s work, said she found the talk interesting.

“[It’s] a great opportunity to meet a writer who has influenced my writing,” she said.  

Ramos said that the event made her eager to explore new places and stories.

“Writing is a place where you can make anything, even the world you want to see, and communicate to other people,” she said. 

Senior Ayana Loyd said she enjoyed the event after looking forward to it for a while.

“I was super excited when I found out she was going to be on campus because I have been a fan of her work for a long time,” she said. 

One of the most impactful portions of the talk for Lyod was hearing Okorafor describe her writing process as chaotic and nonlinear. 

“I took a lot of notes when she was talking about her writing process and how she doesn’t really like creating outlines,” Loyd said.

Okorafor said that since her early writing, she has connected her work to her culture.

“My first stories had these fantastical, mystical elements that came from culture,” Okorafor said. “And then when I took a creative writing class, I had the freedom to write about all these forbidden things.”

When Okorafor went back to Nigeria as a child, she saw that cell phones “started appearing in the village, cell phones would start appearing in areas that weren’t expected, and you would see girls going to the stream and holding their phones out of the way so they wouldn’t get wet” 

From that moment, Okorafor was inspired to explore the “interesting juxtaposition of the ancient and the traditional with new technology.”

Ani said that she enjoys how Okorafor’s work intertwines culture with sci-fi.

“One of her books, in particular, is based on space exploration and a girl that wants to go to college in space,” Ani said. “You also have books which focus more on spiritual aspects where ghosts have spiritual aspects. You also have the book which is based on a girl with cybernetics.” 

Loyd also said she appreciated the insight Okorafor was able to provide as a Black author. 

“I feel like what she said about wanting to read books that had roles that she could exist in when she was younger, I think that really resonated with me,” she said.

Okorafor spoke about the importance of representation. 

“I hope my stories create those ideas, images, and pictures that I was missing when I was growing up,” she said. 

She offered some advice to prospective writers who felt similar to her.

“I started writing these stories because I wanted to see these stories,” she said.  “If you don’t see it, create it.”