Helen Oyeyemi FRSL (born 10 December 1984) is a British novelist and writer of short stories.
Early life and education Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and was raised in Lewisham, South London from when she was four. Oyeyemi wrote her first novel, The Icarus Girl, while studying for her A-levels at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. She attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Career While she was in college, Oyeyemi's plays Juniper's Whitening and Victimese were performed by fellow students and later published by Methuen in 2014. In 2007, Bloomsbury published Oyeyemi's second novel, The Opposite House, which is inspired by Cuban mythology. Her third novel, White Is for Witching, was published by Picador in May 2009. It was a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award finalist and won a 2010 Somerset Maugham Award. In 2009, Oyeyemi was recognized as one of the women on Venus Zine's "25 under 25" list.
Her fourth novel, Mr Fox, was published by Picador in June 2011. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2012 and in 2013 she was included in the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. Her fifth novel, Boy, Snow, Bird, was published by Picador in 2014. Boy, Snow, Bird was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2014.
Oyeyemi published What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a story collection, in 2016. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours won the 2016 PEN Open Book Award: for an exceptional book-length work of literature by an author of colour."2017 PEN America Literary Awards Winners", Pen America, 22 February 2017. Gingerbread, a novel, was published on 5 March 2019. Peaces, a novel, was published on 1 April 2021.
Her eighth novel, Parasol Against the Axe, was published in February 2024. It is the first of her books to be set in the Czech Republic, despite living there for more than a decade. Her ninth novel A New New Me was also set in the country.
Judging roles Oyeyemi was a judge on the Booktrust Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for 2015
Oyeyemi served as a judge for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Oyeyemi was a judge for the 2018 International Booker Prize.
Oyeyemi was a judge for the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize, along with Tom Lee (chair), Maddie Mortimer and Ellen Peirson-Hagger.
Personal life Since 2013 her home has been in Prague.
Bibliography Novels The Icarus Girl (2005) The Opposite House (2007) White Is for Witching (2009) Mr. Fox (2011) Boy, Snow, Bird (2014) Gingerbread (2019) Peaces (2021) Parasol Against the Axe (2024) A New New Me (2025)
Plays Juniper's Whitening (2004)"Juniper's Whitening by Helen Oyeyemi", Methuen. Victimese (2005)
Short story collections What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours (2016)
References
External links
"Too Talented to be This Young" from The Globe and Mail. "Helen Oyeyemi on haunted house novels", La Clé des Langues, 28 August 2012. Author Page on PEN American Center website. Author Page on picador.com. "i live with him, i see his face, i go no more away" (short story, New Statesman, 18 December 1996. Author Page on AALBC.com website. "A Muse Gets Mad In Oyeyemi's Magical 'Mr. Fox'" (interview), NPR Books, 2 October 2011.