Celebrated Nigerian author signs copies of her latest book Dream Count before calling storytelling a force for truth and empowerment

Sharjah, November 9, 2025

Celebrated Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie urged readers to “dream boldly” and “speak their truths” as she presented her new book Dream Count at the ongoing 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). Speaking to moderator Abdul Karim Hanif in front of a full audience, Adichie said stories shape identity, challenge power and give new generations the courage to imagine better futures.

Adichie, who is widely recognised as a central figure in feminist literature, opened the talk with the subject of home – and the tensions that shape it while talking about the three ‘affluent’ Nigerian women that feature in her latest novel.

Speaking with candour about Nigeria, she reflected on the coexistence of immense wealth and deep poverty that defines much of its social fabric. “Nigeria is a country of staggering contrasts – a small, very wealthy minority living beside deep poverty,” Adhichie said. “You cannot truly understand that materialism unless you’ve lived it. People long for luxury not just as an aspiration, but because it feels so near – almost within reach, yet never truly attainable.”

Mixing wit and humour that drew rounds of generous applause from the packed audience, Adichie turned personal – speaking about family, identity, and the women who shaped her, particularly her mother. She recalled how filmmaker Mira Nair introduced herself as “the producer of the new mayor of New York City,” referring to her son Zohran Mamdani. “My mother was the producer of the writer in me,” said the multiple-award winning author who uses fashion as a medium to break down stereotypes, and in 2018 was recognised with a Shorty Award for her Wear Nigerian Campaign.

“Fashion and style, for me, are a form of gentle nationalism. That’s why I mostly wear Nigerian designers – not only to support the immense talent at home, but because I’m proud of where I come from.”

Speaking about loss and the long silence it brought, Adichie reflected on one of the most difficult periods of her life – when her father died unexpectedly in 2020, followed months later by her mother’s passing on his birthday. Writing Dream Count, she said, became both her refuge and her way of surviving grief.

“During that time, I took comfort in reading about other artists who had gone through the same thing. For years, I couldn’t write fiction – and fiction is the love of my life, what I believe I am here to do. Then my father died, and months later my mother passed away on his birthday. It felt like living through a story no one would believe. My mother’s death is something I still can’t face fully.”

When asked if she felt she had been chosen to write, Adichie smiled and paused before tracing her love of storytelling back to childhood. She said the urge to write had always been part of her – something instinctive, inherited, and almost sacred.

“I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write,” said the author whose works have been translated in close to 50 languages including Arabic. “When I was ten and had an appendectomy, my sister asked what I wanted her to bring me in the hospital and instead of chocolate, I asked for exercise books. I just wanted to write.”

The session ended with a book signing as readers lined up to meet the author best known for other works like Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah.

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