Francesca Ekwuyasi

francesca ekwuyasi is a Nigerian Canadian writer and artist.^[1] She is most noted for her debut novel Butter Honey Pig Bread, which was published in 2020.

ekwuyasi is also a mentor in the Master of Fine Arts in Fiction program at the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[2]

Early life & career

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria,^[3] she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[1] In addition to her writing, she had an exhibition of paper cutout art at Halifax's The Khyber in 2019,^[1] and has directed short documentary films including Reconcile^[1] and Black & Belonging.^[3]

Butter Honey Pig Bread was selected for the 2021 edition of Canada Reads, where it was defended by celebrity chef Roger Mooking.^[4][5] The book was longlisted for the 2020 Giller Prize,^[6] and shortlisted for the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction,^[7] the 2021 ReLit Award for Novel,^[8] the Amazon.ca First Novel Award^[9] and the 2020 Governor General's Award for English fiction.^[10] In 2022, it won the Dayne Ogilvie Prize.^[11]

Personal details

She identifies as queer.^[3]

Awards

Year	Book	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2020	Butter Honey Pig Bread	Giller Prize	—	Longlisted	[6]
		Governor General's Award	Fiction in English	Shortlisted	[10]
2021		Amazon.ca First Novel Award	—	Shortlisted	[9]
		CBC Canada Reads	—	Nominated	[4][5]
		Lambda Literary Award	Lesbian Fiction	Shortlisted	[7]
		ReLit Award	Novel	Shortlisted	[8]
2022		Dayne Ogilvie Prize	—	Won	[11]

Biblio

• —— (2020). Butter Honey Pig Bread (hardcover 1st ed.). Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 9781551528236.