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Scottish-Sierra Leonian novelist Aminatta Forna made the Queen’s 2017 New Year Honors. She was appointed Officers of the Order of the British Empire award, which means she receives a medal of honor and gets to put the abbreviation “O.B.E.” after her name.

She shared the news on Facebook, and as you can imagine her timeline has since been flooded with congratulatory messages.

The Queen’s Honois an annual list that celebrates individuals who have “made achievement in public life” or “committed themselves to serving and helping Britain.”

Forna’s appointment is in recognition of her contributions to literature. In the past few years, she’s written novels and essays that have shaped global conversations around questions of culture and identity but also of violence and trauma. She has published 4 books, three of which are critically acclaimed novels — The Devil that Danced on the Water, Ancestor Stones, The Memory of Love, and The Hired Man. 

Congrats to Forna! What a great way to start off the year.