Oluwole Talabi (born 28 February 1986) is a Nigerian science fiction writer, engineer, and editor, who is considered among the Third Generation of Nigerian Writers.
Early life and education Talabi was raised in Warri, Delta, a city in southern Nigeria, where his father was a chemical engineer, before later moving to Benin. He studied chemical engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University and earned a master's degree at Imperial College London.
Career Talabi then worked as an engineer, and partway through his career began to write professionally. He stated that he had never been formally trained in writing except for two online classes from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Michigan, but he had written stories since learning to read as a child.
His works include an amount of short stories; the anthologies These Words Expose Us: An Anthology (2014), Lights Out: Resurrection (2016), Africanfuturism: An Anthology (2020).
Incomplete Solutions, published in 2019, was Talabi's first published collection of short stories, covering five years of his writing. The stories are from a range of speculative genres but also include non-speculative romance, and they explore contradicting philosophies and levels of hope, but often have themes of choice and identity. They embed Nigerian culture and perspectives without explaining them to unfamiliar readers. Adri Joy, reviewing for Strange Horizons, praised the intriguing, fun and varied nature of the stories, while wishing for fewer male-centered or chauvinistic perspectives.
Talabi published his debut novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon in 2023. Shigidi is a Yoruba god of nightmares who wants to get out of his minimum wage job at the Orisha Spirit Company. Shigidi's lover Nneoma, a succubus, helps him pull off a heist so he can leave: they have been tasked with stealing back the heavily protected brass head of Obulafon from the British Museum. Chris Kluwe, reviewing for Lightspeed, praised the novel and said the pair's relationship and themes of capitalism and colonialism drive the story. Gary K. Wolfe, reviewing for Locus, praised the book's balance of genre elements, keeping the "kinetic mix of noir heist fiction, erotic romance, political intrigue, and supernatural fireworks without distracting too much from the genuinely affecting relationship between Nneoma and Shigidi." Architra Mittra, for Strange Horizons, also praised the book's balance of genre and its entertaining exploration of heavy themes, but criticized the stereotypical elements of the main relationship.
Convergence Problems, a collection released in 2024, focused on more traditional science fiction themes, with ideas, characterization, and Nigerian culture driving the pieces.
He was described in Scientific American as "an author who blends transhumanism and the Turing test".
Talabi has been a manager of a database of speculative fiction by African authors on the African Speculative Fiction Society website. Talabi is a founding charter member of the society.
Personal life He married Rocío Vizuete Fernandez in 2023 at Madrid, Spain.
Awards and recognition
+ Year Work Award Category Result 2017 Nommo Award Short Story 2018 Caine Prize — Nommo Award Short Story 2020 Incompleteness Theories Novella Short Story 2021 Africanfuturism: An Anthology Locus Award Anthology 2022 Locus Award Short Story Nommo Award Short Story Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award — Canopus Award Short-Form Fiction BSFA Award Non-Fiction Nebula Award Novelette Sidewise Award for Alternate History Short Form 2023 Hugo Award Novelette Locus Award Novelette Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology BSFA Award Collection Ignyte Award Creative Nonfiction BSFA Award Non-fiction (short) Nebula Award Novelette Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon BSFA Award Novel Nebula Award Novel 2024 Convergence Problems BSFA Award Collection Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology British Fantasy Award Anthology Locus Award Anthology Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon British Fantasy Award Fantasy Novel Crawford Award — Ignyte Award Adult Novel Locus Award First Novel Nommo Award Novel World Fantasy Award Novel BSFA Award Short Fiction 2025 Ignyte Award Community Award Convergence Problems Locus Award Collection Descent BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Nebula Award Novella Locus Award Novelette Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon Aldiss Award — 2026 Seiun Award Translated Short Story Descent Ignyte Award Novella
After winning his third Nommo Award in 2024, and having won in all three prose categories, he announced that he would decline any future nominations to clear the field for new writers.
Bibliography Novels
Forthcoming:
Collections
Anthologies
Full text online.
Short Fiction
This list includes short fiction published in anthologies, magazines, and websites. Short works that are original to Talabi's own collections are not included here.
The Weekdays
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BLOMBOS 7090 and 4020
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Standalone short fiction
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References