Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 27 February
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Nigerian-born Chika Unigwe has been praised as ‘one of the most probing, thought-provoking writers of the recent renaissance in African fiction’.
She tells stories of African women oppressed by poverty and their gender – in Europe and at home. Her prose is as alluring as her subjects are challenging; her characters empathetic and courageous.
For her second novel, On Black Sisters’ Street, Unigwe researched the lives of African women working in the European sex trade, exploring the complex social and economic reasons for their presence.
The New York Times has praised her ‘sly, generous humour’ and hailed her as a ‘latter-day Thackeray’.
Featuring
Paddy O'Reilly
Paddy O’Reilly is a writer from Melbourne. Her work has been published and broadcast widely both here and internationally. Her latest novel, The Fine Colour of Rust, is published in the UK, Australia and the USA.
Paddy’s short-story collection The End of the World garnered much review coverage in Australia and was shortlisted for several awards. Her debut novel, The Factory, was broadcast in 15 episodes as the ABC Radio National Book Reading in 2009.
Paddy has also written screenplays. She has spent several years living in Japan, working as a copywriter and translator.
Chika Unigwe
Nigerian born Chika Unigwe writes novels, poetry, children’s books and non-fiction. Unigwe writes in both Dutch and English, and two of her novels are now available in English: On Black Sisters’ Street and most recently Night Dancer.
The first tells the story of African prostitutes working in Belgium; the second is the about the relationships between mothers and daughters.
Unigwe’s stories have been broadcast on BBC World Service, Radio Nigeria, and other Commonwealth Radio Stations. She was also listed as one of the most powerful black women in Europe in 2010. She lives with her family Belgium.
Her website is http://www.chikaunigwe.com/.