What is that angelic voice we hear?

Why, that’s Chibundu Onuzo singing!

Our last guest for Brittle Paper‘s Instagram Live series #WeTurnToBooks was none other than the multi-talented Chibundu Onuzo. Onuzo is the author of two novels: The Spider King’s Daughter (2012), which won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize as well as the Commonwealth Prize; and Welcome to Lagos (2016), which was an Official Belletrist Book Pick and an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick. In 2014, Onuzo was selected for the Hay Festival’s Africa39 list of sub-saharan African writers aged under 40, and in 2018, Onuzo was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature as part of its “40 Under 40” initiative. She recently graduated with a PhD in history from King’s College London.

Our chat with Onuzo bubbled over with her energy. She generously answered questions from the chat’s audience about writing and shared with us novels she enjoyed reading such as Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come (2005), Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s David Mogo, Godhunter (2019), and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister the Serial Killer (2019). On top of that, she divulged some details about a film she’s been working on and hinted at a new novel in the works!

Above all, Onuzo dazzled us with her voice — she absolutely blew us away singing three songs a capella. Watch the video below (or on our Instagram TV channel) to catch this rare performance. Don’t forget to watch too our chats with E.C. Osondu, Ato Quayson, Mukoma wa Ngũgĩ, and Jeanne-Marie Jackson-Awotwi; like Onuzo, they each brought something special to our conversations with them.

A final thank you to all our five spectacular guests, and to those who tuned in to our inaugural Instagram Live series!