Nigerian authors Bernardine Evaristo and Teju Cole have been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of America’s oldest learned societies, formed with the purpose of honoring exceptional scholars across diverse fields. They join Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who was elected into the academy in 2017.

With over 5,700 active membership across the US and the globe, the academy is one of the most prestigious learned societies in the world. New members are annually added through a “thorough petition, review, and election process.”

The 2021 members are grouped into the categories of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and Arts, and Leadership, Policy and Communications. Each category is further divided into sections.

Evaristo and Cole are both categorized under Humanities and Arts in the section Literature (Brunel University and Harvard University respectively). They are joined by other scholars from across universities in America, including award-winning poet Jericho Brown (Emory University) and Duong Thu Huong (independent).

Evaristo shared the news on Twitter;

https://twitter.com/bernardineevari/status/1385483126214905856?s=21

See the full list of members here.

Congratulations to Bernardine Evaristo and Teju Cole!