UCHENNA AWOKE grew up in rural Nigeria (where he still lives) and where he was educated through secondary school. Despite his lack of education, he’s always wanted to be a writer. He remembers the day his mother emptied the only oil lamp his family used so he would stop writing—she saw it as a waste of kerosene, but more importantly, she believed it would lead him into trouble. Self-educated as a writer, Uchenna’s short stories have appeared in Transition, Elsewhere Lit, Trestle Ties and elsewhere. He has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Vermont Studio Center in 2018 and 2019 respectively, where he worked on completing a first novel manuscript. In addition to being the first featured author in PVWW's Writing Across Borders program and giving a public (virtual) reading of his work on 10/24/2021, PVWW is hosting an ongoing fundraiser for Uchenna and his family, to help them get out of a currently dangerous area subject to violence and frequent attacks.
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