NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize winner, Prof. Chika Unigwe, receives Belgian Knighthood
Celebrated writer and Professor of Creative Writing, Chika Nina Unigwe, has been knighted into the Order of the Crown for services to Literature (Culture) by the Consular General of Belgium in the United States of America (USA).
The event took place at the Belgium House and the multiple award winning author, who lived in Belgium for many years, is married to a Belgian and considers Belgium a second home, said concerning the honor done her: “It was very moving for me…. To be so honored and acknowledged was humbling.”
The 49 year old writer of several widely reviewed and acclaimed books, including On Black Sisters’ Street, which won Africa’s largest literary prize, the NLNG’s Nigeria Prize for Literature, valued at $100,000, was born in Enugu, Nigeria and writes in English and Dutch.
Professor Unigwe obtained a BA in English from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1995), earned an MA degree in English from KU Leuven (the Catholic University of Leuven) (1996) and a Ph.D in Literature (2004) from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
She has published children’s books, short fiction in several journals, magazines and anthologies, is a columnist of repute and, among others, has been winner of not only the NLNG Nigeria Prize in Literature, but several other highly coveted international literary prizes for her engaging works.
Passionate about mentorship, Unigwe has, through her Awele Creative Trust, been actively supporting young writers, and with this latest honor, would be fired up to do more for Literature (Culture) and humanity in general.
