Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor will deliver the Dwight H. Terry Lectureship at Yale University. Established in 1905, the Terry Lectureship is a century-old lecture series that invites preeminent scholars to address how science and philosophy inform religion and its application to human welfare. Past lecturers include Marilynne Robinson, Terry Eagleton, and Kwame Anthony Appiah.

Sharing the news on Facebook, Okorafor expressed her excitement about joining the distinguished roster of thinkers who have held the lectureship. “I’m doing the Terry Lectureship at Yale in March/April. It’s a century-old lecture series that’s hosted some truly heavyweight thinkers. Wild to be stepping onto that stage,” she wrote. She also noted that Yale holds special significance for her as her sister, Ngozi C. Okorafor, is an alumna. “It’s one of the reasons I almost always agree to speak there when asked. I visited her there back in the day and I’ve spoken there a few times over the last few years.”

Here’s the schedule for her sessions:

Tuesday, March 31 at 5:00 p.m. – Naming the Unseen

Monday, April 13 at 5:00 p.m. – Ndi Mmuo (The Spirits)

Friday, April 17 at 5:00 p.m. – Worlds of Spirit and Transformation

Location for all: Kline 14, 14th floor, Kline Tower, 219 Prospect Street, New Haven

Okorafor is a New York Times bestselling author known for coining and pioneering Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism in science fiction and fantasy. Her works include Who Fears Death, winner of the 2011 World Fantasy Award and currently in development at HBO, the Nebula and Hugo Award-winning Binti trilogy, the Lodestar and Locus Award-winning Nsibidi Scripts Series (Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Akata Woman), and novels Lagoon, Remote Control, and Noor. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature.

Okorafor holds a PhD in literature and two master’s degrees in journalism and literature. She is a professor of practice with the Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2024.

The Terry Lectureship has been bringing distinguished scholars to Yale since 1923 to examine religion from a humanitarian perspective in light of modern science and philosophy. The lectures are free, open to the public, and many are later published as books by Yale University Press. Okorafor’s participation in this prestigious series marks another milestone for African speculative fiction on the global stage.