Death of the Author

The future of storytelling is here.

Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.

In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.

What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.

Nnedi Okorafor, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, presents a sweeping tale about family, culture and identity, and a breathtaking examination of the relationship between writer and reader . . . and robots. Death of the Author is heartfelt, tender, and an ambitious meta-drama about what makes us human.

Review

Don't be frightened by the title, Nnedi Okorafor is fine... and doing her best work yet. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR reads like three novels in one... or maybe four... about fame and family, culture and change, the power of story, the writer's life... and robots. This one has it all ― George R.R. Martin

Nnedi Okorafor is so ferociously talented that we are starting to see she cannot be boxed into any category or genre. Her new, Death of the Author, is a deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones ― Luis Alberto Urrea Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels

Connection is the heartbeat of Okorafor's work ― New York Times

I was captivated by the story-and the many stories-within-the-story-of this ambitious, inventive tribute to the power of storytelling itself ― Nikki Erlick, New York Times bestselling author of The Measure

Okorafor explores what it means to be human. . . . All-out Okorafor - her best yet ― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Highly recommended for fans of Octavia Butler, Nicky Drayden, and Tade Thompson . . . will attract genre and literary fiction fans alike ― Booklist (starred review)

Metafiction at its finest... equal parts sharp social commentary and deeply human storytelling ― Readers Digest

An epic about love, friendship, and the cost of survival ― Library Journal, starred review

About the Author

Nnedi Okorafor is an international award-winning New York Times bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for adults, young adults and children. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism. Nnedi has received the World Fantasy, Nebula and Eisner and multiple Hugo, Lodestar and Nommo Awards, amongst others, for her works. She has books currently being adapted for TV by HBO, Amazon Studies, 20th Century Fox, and others. Nnedi holds a PhD in Literature, two Master's Degrees (Journalism and Literature) and lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her daughter Anyaugo.