Aminatta Forna wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.
The record lists Aminatta Forna as Scottish and Sierra Leonean writer.
Aminatta Forna was born at Bellshill in 1964. Her recorded nationality is United Kingdom. She was educated at University College London.
Contemporary publishing is global and fast, with translation, festivals and prizes doing much of the work that critics once did.
She worked as writer, novelist and poet lawyer.
The writing is recorded in English.
Her best-known work is The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest. Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.
The honours record reads: Commonwealth Writers' Prize and Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes (2014).
That the work was written from United Kingdom matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Aminatta Forna is still writing, and the shape of the body of work is not yet settled.
Achievements
- Commonwealth Writers' Prize
- Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes — 2014
- Notable work: The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest
