Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is an lgbo and Tamil writer and video artist, best known for their 2018 debut novel "Freshwater".
Personal life.
Born to a Nigerian father, and Indian Tamil mother, Emezi grew up in Aba, Nigeria. Emezi and their sister Yagazie used storytelling to escape the riots, dictatorship, and dangerous reality of their childhoods. Emezi began writing short stories when they were five years old. They received their MPA from New York University.
Emezi uses the pronouns they/them/theirs.
Freshwater.
"Freshwater" tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, Ada, who is an ogbanje. Emezi explores their Igbo heritage's spirituality and gender alongside those of Western construction and invites their audience to think critically about this spirit/body binary.
Reception.
"The New Yorker" called "Freshwater" "a startling début novel"; "The Guardian" called it "a remarkable debut"; and the "LA Times" called it "dazzling". "Freshwater" was longlisted for numerous significant awards. "Freshwater" was a "New York Times" Notable Book, was named a Best Book of the Year by the "New Yorker" and NPR. and was called a "New York Times" Notable Book. Emezi is also recognized as a 2018 National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree. 
In 2019, "Freshwater" was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction — the first time a non-binary transgender author has been nominated for the prize. Kate Williams, the chair of the judges, called it a "historic moment". Williams said that the panel did not know Emezi was non-binary when the book was chosen, but she said Emezi was happy to be nominated. Non-binary commentator Vic Parsons wrote that the nomination raised uncomfortable questions, asking: "would a non-binary author who was assigned male at birth have been longlisted? I highly doubt it." After the nomination, it was announced that the Women's Prize Trust was working on new guidelines for transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid authors.
Other works.
"Pet", released on 10 September 2019, is about a transgender teenager named Jam living in a world where adults refuse to acknowledge the existence of monsters.
Emezi signed a two-book deal with Riverhead Books. The first, "The Death of Vivek Oji", came out on 4 August 2020 and was a "New York Times" best seller. The second is a memoir entitled "Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir". 