Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has shared a remarkable insight into the overwhelming demand for her literary events, revealing that her book events consistently sell out within 24 hours.
The 47-year-old literary icon made the revelation during a recent interview on Arise TV, expressing both gratitude and disbelief at the strong connection readers worldwide have formed with her work.
“I have never lost my sense of wonder. It is not false modesty — it is, in fact, true that I go through these things and I’m just shocked that they are sold out in 24 hours, that there are 1,000 people there to see me — they bloody paid money to see me,” she said.
Adichie, known for bestsellers like Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus, and Americanah, said she is often moved by how people from vastly different backgrounds find deep personal meaning in her stories.
“There’s a part of me that still thinks, really, why? It’s always lovely to just see the kind of connection people make to my work. I’m also very moved by the idea of human connection—people who are so different from you… They read you and say to you, ‘This was me.’”
The celebrated writer recalled one particularly emotional encounter in Copenhagen, Denmark, where a woman’s words brought her to tears.
“In all of my touring, the most moving that actually brought me to tears was a woman in Copenhagen,” she said. “She just looked at me and said to me, ‘You make me feel stronger.’”
Adichie’s literary influence extends far beyond Nigeria. In 2019, she became the first Nigerian to receive the United Nations Foundation’s Global Leadership Award. She has also been named to the New African’s list of 100 Most Influential Africans, Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, and The New Yorker’s ‘20 Under 40’ list.
