Flora Nwapa, (born January 13, 1931, Oguta, Nigeria died Oct. 16, 1993, Enugu), Nigerian novelist best known for re-creating Igbo (Ibo) life and customs from a woman’s viewpoint.

Nwapa was educated in Ogula, Port Harcourt, and Lagos before attending University College in Ibadan, Nigeria (1953–57), and the University of Edinburgh. She worked as a teacher and administrator in Nigeria from 1959 until the Biafran civil war erupted in 1967. After the war she was commissioner for health and social welfare in East Central state before she formed Tana Press/Flora Nwapa Company to publish African books.

Efuru (1966), Nwapa’s first novel, is based on an old folktale of a woman chosen by the gods. Idu (1970) centres on a woman whose life is bound up with that of her husband to such an extent that when he dies she seeks him out in the land of the dead.

In This Is Lagos, and Other Stories (1971) and the later novels One Is Enough (1981) and Women Are Different (1986), Nwapa continued her compassionate portrayal of women in modern Nigerian society. The novel Never Again (1975) and Wives at War, and Other Stories (1980) deal with the Biafran conflict. Her sole volume of poetry is Cassava Song and Rice Song (1986).

Short stories/poems

This Is Lagos and Other Stories, Enugu: Nwamife, 1971; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433212

Wives at War and Other Stories, Enugu: Nwamife, 1980; Flora Nwapa Co./Tana Press, 1984; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433281

Cassava Song and Rice Song, Enugu: Tana Press, 1986

Children's books

Emeka, Driver's Guard, London: University of London Press, 1972; Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1987

Mammywater, 1979; Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1984

The Adventures of Deke, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Co., 1980

The Miracle Kittens, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1980

Journey to Space, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1980

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