Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian fiction writer and visual artist whose work spans multiple genres including speculative fiction, romance, memoir, and poetry. They write for both young adult and adult audiences, with much of their work exploring LGBTQ themes. Emezi is best known for their novels Freshwater (2018), Pet, and The Death of Vivek Oji, which became a New York Times bestseller. Their writing has earned recognition through several awards and nominations, including the Otherwise Award and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. In 2021, Time magazine featured Emezi as a Next Generation Leader.