Fiction
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Bio
Oonya Kempadoo is a UK, Guyanese, Grenadian citizen and currently a resident of Canada. She is the author of three novels and is critically acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. Her semi-autobiographical first novel was long-listed for the Orange Prize and translated into six languages. Her second won a Casa De Las Americas prize and she was named a “Great Talent for the 21st Century” by Orange Prize judges. Oonya has taught creative writing in the USA, led workshops in the Caribbean, at QWF, and has served on several award juries including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards (USA & Canada). She is the writing facilitator and editor of the first children’s chocolate book, written by children of colour in a cocoa-growing country, that won Gourmand’s ‘Best in the World’. Oonya’s new novel of speculative fiction is part of an eco-social story project that she has produced and directed as an immersive multimedia experience, with the support of Canadian public funds.
Services Offered
From manuscript evaluation, to defining voice in short stories, to finding the best form and plan around your idea or theme, I love collaborating to find what best serves your needs and what, ultimately, serves the story. Based on your needs or work, we would discuss a process and agreement that can include a one-time critique or editorial feedback and Skype/in-person consultation over a fixed period. Using reflection, affirmation and defiance of the traditional structures and grammar that sometimes bind us, I pay much attention to the authenticity of language and the importance of observation. I enjoy bringing an international perspective to literary projects and to working with others to shape and support great stories.
Special Interests
Novel, memoir, creative non-fiction, autobiography, speculative and climate fiction.
