ENCORE: Author Chibundu Onuzo; ‘The Wildlands’

Chibundu Onuzo is a Nigerian author from one of the world’s largest and most vibrant cities. It’s the subject of her first novel, Welcome to Lagos. Plus, Chicago writer Abby Geni has always been in love with the outdoors. But her second novel, The Wildlands, is about nature’s darker side and one Oklahoma family’s struggle to survive.

Lagos, Nigeria is one of the biggest and fastest growing cities in Africa, if not the world. Like any big metropolitan city, you meet people from all walks of life trying to make it in their own way. 

For Nigerian writer Chibundu Onuzo, Lagos is also the city of “my birth, my dreams, my frustrations, my imagination.” And it’s the site of her latest novel, Welcome to Lagos, which was released in the U.S. last year. 

"When I lived in Lagos, I lived in a city with 50 million people and counting, but I felt the world was happening somewhere else," says @ChibunduOnuzo.

"It was only after I moved to England that I realized I came from a very interesting, and vibrant place."

— The 21st (@21stShow) July 29, 2019

Also--

Chicago writer Abby Geni has been writing novels since she was a little kid. She’s also always been in love with the outdoors.

So perhaps it’s fitting that her second novel, released in September 2018, is called The Wildlands. It’s a story about not just nature, but about survival, family, and making it on your own. 

Abby Geni, on writing about animals—and why she doesn't anthropomorphize them:

"These animals, their instinct, and their nature can tell us something about our own, instead of the other way around."

— The 21st (@21stShow) July 29, 2019