Zambian-Ghanaian author Efemia Christiana’s Caine Prize-nominated short story “Chicken” has been optioned for film by Kethiwe Ngcobo and Bridget Pickering at Johannesburg-based film production company Collecting Treasures. We could not be more excited to see the story come to life on the big screen!

Efemia Christiana grew up in Zambia, England, Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. She studied at Rhodes University, South Africa and Institut D’Etudes Politiques in Aix-En-Provence, France. Christiana’s stories and poems have been published in Brittle Paper, Jalada, Short.Sharp.Stories: Adults Only, Prufrock and PEN Passages: Africa.

The short story “Chicken” is her debut published work. “Chicken” originally appeared in the Feast, Famine and Potluck collection, but became popular when it was nominated for Short Story Day Africa, placing third, and then nominated again for The Caine Prize for African Writing in 2014. Read it here.

“Chicken” is a story about a young woman in her twenties who just graduated from university, exploring her sexuality and self. Set in the coming-of-age genre, the story’s main character is faced with a difficult choice: to pursue a life as a lawyer or continue to explore herself, however uncertain this path might seem. Christiana paints a portrait of a strong, powerful woman with an adventurous and curious spirit. Read our review of the story here.

Christiana is thrilled that “Chicken” has been snapped up for a film option and announced to her Facebook fans, “Wish me luck on the journey from the page to the reel. Special thanks to those who have been there for me from the very beginning of my literary dreams.”

Congrats to Christiana!