Chika Unigwe – Writing in Belgium

Chika Unigwe was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and now lives in Turnhout, Belgium, with her husband and four children.

She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MA from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. She also holds a PhD from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, having completed a thesis entitled “In the shadow of Ala. Igbo women writing as an act of righting” in 2004.

Chika Unigwe is the author of fiction, poetry, articles and educational material. She won the 2003 BBC Short Story Competition for her story “Borrowed Smile”, a Commonwealth Short Story Award for “Weathered Smiles” and a Flemish literary prize for “De Smaak van Sneeuw”, her first short story written in Dutch. “The Secret”, another of her short pieces, was nominated for the 2004 Caine Prize. Moreover, her short story “Dreams” was shortlisted for the Million Writers Best Online Fiction in 2005, and “Thinking of Angel” was longlisted for the same award. Her story “Confetti, Glitter and Ash” recently finished third in the 2005 Equiano Prize for Fiction.

Read Chika Unigwe’s full bio on her website, and some of her works online.