“Writers on Writing“ Radio Show

About the Episode
Dr. Brenda Greene interviews Uwem Akpan, the author of New York, My Village (W. W. Norton & Co., 2021). This debut novel presents the experiences of a Nigerian writer who has been offered the Toni Morrison Fellowship at an independent publishing firm in New York City. Greene and Akpan discuss how he uses satire to discuss topics such as the publishing industry, colorism, racism, the church, and the Biafran War from the perspective of a Nigerian “minority within a minority” who has the experience of living in an illegal sublet in the middle of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Akpan notes that he does not exclude anyone in his witty and satirical “takes” on these issues.  Greene and Akpan also discuss Akpan’s writing process and his message for writers.

About the Guest
Uwem Akpan is the author of the novel New York, My Village, which will be published in November 2021, and Say You’re One of Them, a collection of short stories that was published in 2008 by Little, Brown. Say You’re One of Them made the “Best of the Year” list at People magazine, Wall Street Journal, New York Times’ Editor’s Choice, and won the Commonwealth Prize (Africa Region), the Open Book Prize, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. The collection of short stories was the 2009 Oprah Book Club selection. Uwem has been a Fellow at the Black Mountain Institute (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2010), Institute for the Humanities (University of Michigan, 2011), Yaddo Foundation (Saratoga Springs, New York, 2012), the Cullman Center (The New York Public Library, 2013), and the Hang Center for Catholic Intellectual Heritage (Loyola University Chicago, 2017). Akpan teaches creative writing at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Select episodes of “Writers on Writing” can now be heard on the new CBL YouTube channel. Explore our digital archives!

Email writers@mec.cuny.edu for more information.