Astonishing the Gods: Authors Ben Okri, Okezie Nwọka, and Anderson Tepper

For our February International Writers series, join Ben Okri, author of Every Leaf a Hallelujah and Astonishing the Gods, Okezie Nwọka, author of God of Mercy, and Anderson Tepper in conversation on their new books.

Ever since his groundbreaking novel, The Famished Road, which won the Booker Prize thirty years ago, Ben Okri has been astounding readers with his one-of-a-kind literary explorations of freedom and illusion. With his new eco-fable, Every Leaf a Hallelujah, and a revised edition of his 1995 novel, Astonishing the Gods, his voice is as vital and resonant as ever. Debut author Okezie Nwọka’s God of Mercy, meanwhile, reimagines an uncolonized Igboland as it wrestles with deities, demons, and the magical gifts of a spirit-child. Both authors provide glimpses into other realms of wonder and possibility.

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Participants

Ben Okri won the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road, and his novel Astonishing the Gods was selected as one of the BBC’s “100 Novels That Shaped Our World.” His recent books include The Freedom Artist and Prayer for the Living: Stories.

Photo by Mat Bray

 

 

 

Okezie Nwọka is a graduate of Brown University and attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop as a Dean Graduate Research Fellow. God of Mercy is their debut novel.

Photo by Jovan Julien

 

 

 

 

 

Anderson Tepper is co-chair of the International Committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival and has written for The New York Times Book Review, Vanity Fair, World Literature Today, and Words without Borders, among other publications.

 

 

 

 

 

Please register for this free Zoom event. Registered audience members will receive a Zoom link prior to the event.