Akata Witch took about four years and Akata Warrior took about the same amount of time. I wrote two novels in between-I had other things to do and I figured when the time came, it would come. But even though I knew it was a series, I wasn’t thinking, OK, I’m finished with this one so now I have to think about the next one.

I remember the reviews all kept harping on the ending, which drove me crazy because it wasn’t the real ending! It was so frustrating.

My editor was like, “We need to sell this as a standalone,” even though I knew it wasn’t. I had to change the ending because it was published in 2011-a very different time in publishing-so there was sort of a risk. So staying under one ceiling is not a comfortable place for me, but sometimes it happens. I think that’s really the biggest shift.Īll were written at different times of my life and were inspired by different things. With each book I’ve learned more, and understood more, and gotten a lot braver, and a lot more open. I wasn’t sure how people were going to take it and what the consequences were. There are things that I was really nervous about writing-a lot of the cultural stuff. I would say one of the biggest changes was that with each of the novels I felt more comfortable with my voice and with what I was writing. With each book, each narrative, I get to know the characters better and better. This idea of building on a story like this is different for me. I’m not really a series person, so it’s rare for me to write one. When I look at Akata Witch in comparison to Akata Warrior, there’s a world of difference! Each of the books is definitely a progression. They get deeper into the world and reflect the deeper understanding that I have about the world and the culture. Each book gets progressively better and more complex. I couldn’t even quantify it-my skills as a writer.

I’ve gone through so much and I’ve learned so much. I’m always writing and I’m always learning, and the last 10 years for me have been really epic. How have you as an author changed in this time and how has that been reflected in the growth of the trilogy? Akata Witch, the first book in the series, came out in 2011.

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor