Akwaeke Emezi is a storyteller and visual artist centering radical possibilities and indigenous Black realities with the philosophy that re-indigenization is essential for liberation. Through their art practice, they explore embodiment, incarnation, and sacred rites, reflecting on the space between corporeality and the spirit world.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Emezi's work spans literature, music, film, and visual art. They released their debut EP Stop Dying, You Were Very Expensive! in March 2024 and their tenth book Son Of The Morning is forthcoming from Avon Books on November 4, 2025.
Emezi moved to Brooklyn in the early 2010s as a poet, painter, and filmmaker, with their short film Ududeagu winning Best Short Experimental at the 2014 BlackStar Film Festival. In 2018, they burst onto the literary scene with their debut novel Freshwater, going on to publish nine books in the next seven years, including the instant NYT bestseller The Death Of Vivek Oji and National Book Award finalist Pet. Their romance novel You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty was a 2023 NAACP Image Award nominee and is in development for the screen at Amazon Studios, with Emezi executive producing alongside Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society.
Lauded as 'one of our greatest living writers' (Shondaland) and 'a once-in-a-generation voice' (Vulture), Emezi is represented by Jacqueline Ko at The Wylie Agency, and by United Talent Agency. They are based in liminal spaces.