Irenosen Okojie

Dec 19, 2023 | theguardian.com | Irenosen Okojie

Whenmy mother lost most of her sight just before Christmas 2022 it was a bolt from the blue. She has always seemed quietly invincible to me. Despite the many devastations life has thrown at her, she is a fiercely independent spirit who keeps her head down and gets on with things. She has survived breast cancer, losing several of her siblings and many other tribulations. Through it all, every December without fail, she ensures that we have a great Christmas.

Dec 15, 2023 | msn.com | Irenosen Okojie

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Dec 15, 2023 | theguardian.com | Irenosen Okojie

My earliest reading memoryRoald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, aged eight at boarding school in Norfolk. It was so wacky, fiendish and humorous. It didn’t patronise young readers, which I appreciated. I had just started my first term at that school, which was a period of great change in my life having moved from Lagos to England. I missed my parents but reading this gave me such joy. It unlocked my imagination; I caught the reading bug then never stopped.

Nov 9, 2023 | perspectivemag.co.uk | Adam Sisman |Irenosen Okojie |Cosmo Landesman

October has been a busy month for me, as I have a new book out, The Secret Life of John le Carré. My diary, usually comparatively empty, has been crammed with interviews of one kind or another. I have recorded several podcasts and spoken in universities, bookshops and at literary festivals. I have signed a lot of books, though I should like to have signed even more. If you think this sounds glamorous, think again.

Jun 12, 2023 | perspectivemag.co.uk | Louise Minchin |Irenosen Okojie

I have been meaning to give blood for years, but until this month I’d been thwarted by the understandably strict criteria and my own inertia. Every time I galvanised myself to sign up, I’d invariably just travelled somewhere that meant I had to wait a few weeks until it was safe to donate, and then I’d forget about it again. This year my resolve crystallised when a close friend became so critically ill, they needed a life-saving transfusion.