The author of The Fishermen – shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2015 – on his inspirations and influences, his strong bond with the characters he creates, and how being a Booker judge made him a faster reader
Monthly Spotlight: The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

Monthly Spotlight: The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
- Published
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2015, Obioma’s debut novel follows four brothers whose lives unravel after the eldest’s death is prophesised
Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma has been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize, in 2015 for The Fishermen and in 2019 for An Orchestra of Minorities. He also served as a judge for the Booker Prize in 2021.
Obioma has written three novels, all of which have been translated into 30 languages and has written for various publications, including the New York Times, Paris Review, Granta and the Guardian. He has also won the Financial Times/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Award for Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for The Fishermen.
The Fishermen is set in a quiet neighbourhood of Akure, a small town in west Nigeria, and follows the lives of four, close-knit brothers. Their strong bond is broken when a violent prophecy unleashes a tragic chain of events.
From a reading guide and extract to an exclusive interview with the author, find out more about our November Monthly Spotlight here.
The Fishermen
- Published by
- Pushkin ONE