144. African Heritage Meets Interstellar Travel: Why Nnedi Okorafor's Binti Trilogy is Essential Afrofuturism

“I think it's really important that we read books and reread authors who aren't similar to us, who are very different from us culturally come from different backgrounds, different parts of the world.”

In this How To Write the Future episode, host Beth Barany explains in detail why you need to read the “Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor,” plus why she believes readers need to explore books that are different to our own cultures and backgrounds. Beth invites listeners to share their favorite authors including a sneak peek a topic for a future episode.

Note: The audio-only version has long pauses where I show the book covers. Go to the Youtube version to see Okorafor’s beautiful covers.

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist, teaches novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor.

RESOURCES

Nnedi Okorafor: https://nnedi.com/

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• SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
• SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade

c. 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

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CONNECT
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Transcript

144. African Heritage Meets Interstellar Travel: Why Nnedi Okorafor's Binti Trilogy is Essential Afrofuturism

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write The Future Podcast. I'm a science fiction and fantasy writer, as well as a writing teacher and book coach. 

[00:09] Introducing The Binti Trilogy

I am here today to talk to you about one of my favorite writers and my favorite series, it's the Binti Trilogy by Nnendi Okorafor. I just adored this trilogy.

Three beautiful novellas. 

[00:26] Book Covers and Praise

Here's the first one. Just gorgeous covers. Here's the second one.

And here's the third one. I know there. I know that there are multiple additions of these books, and you can find them with different covers. So just beautiful, beautiful covers. 

And there's a beautiful pull quote here: praise from Ursula Le Guin. "There's more vivid imagination in a page of Nnendi Okorafor's work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics."

She really packs it in. It's so amazing and wonderful. Such a great writer. 

[01:09] Personal Reflections on the Binti Trilogy

And I have to say that each one of these volumes, each one of these stories, 'cause they're complete in and of themself, even though they're also telling a story over the three books. Each one made me cry in a way that was very cathartic and beautiful.

[01:23] Synopsis and Themes

It was amazing. 

Here is the short description of this book. 

"She left her home for the stars, but found more adventure than she bargained for. A tense and intimate coming of age story in space." 

So it's got all the elements that I adore. It's got adventure, it's got travel and space. And I have to say I really do love coming of age stories.

And Nnendi Okorafor is, her family is from Nigeria and I believe that Nnedi also spent some time in Nigeria as a young woman, and she is currently, I think she still is a professor. I almost don't wanna give away anything about the story other than that I just really adored them. And definitely, keepers, I went outta my way to make sure I could get paperback copies instead of just the eBooks.

And I am going to reread them and I just highly recommend them. It's so delicious. Go and get your own copies. 

[02:23] Recommendation and Conclusion

 So actually that is my episode for today. Very short and sweet. 

[02:28] Engaging with the Audience

If you have a favorite author that you adore, I would love to hear them. I'm always learning about new books from other people. I really love that. If it's in science fiction and fantasy, if it's in cultures that are different from my own, I really would love to hear about them.

[02:46] Exploring More Works by Nnendi Okorafor

I do have another one of Nnendi Okorafor four's books up on my shelf. I'm gonna go take a look over there. It's called Akata Witch and it is a warrior training shamanic training, I don't know if shaman is the right word, it's about a witch and it's about a young woman who becomes a witch, and that's a whole other series that Nnendi Okorafor has.

And I know she's got new books out. I really recommend her very lyrical, powerful, sensory oriented, and I really get to go deeply into her characters in such a beautiful way. 

[03:20] Afrofuturism and Broader Themes

You could say that her work-- Nnendi Okorafor's work --is under the umbrella of this greater category of Afro futurism. I'm gonna do a future episode on that, and hopefully do an interview with at least one person I'm hoping on this topic. So if you would like to hear more also about Afrofuturism, let me know. I would love to hear if that is interesting to you.I think it's really important that we read books and reread authors who aren't similar to us, who are very different from us culturally come from different backgrounds, different parts of the world.

And I really encourage you as well to read widely. 

[03:59] The Power of Fiction

Fiction is such a great way to develop compassion and empathy for our fellow human beings. And that's one of the things I love, love, love about reading. 

What I also love about reading futuristic stories from different viewpoints is it just broadens my vision of what could be, and this is the power of fiction.

It broadens our vision of what could be. 

You may have noticed I do not talk about dystopia. I am not interested in it. I don't read it. I don't watch it.

I am looking to science fiction and fantasy for how to make my life better, how to make the lives of those around me better. 

And I take a stand for the fact that we can use fiction to recreate who we can be as human beings.

That's my hope anyway. 

[04:43] Final Thoughts

Alright, that's it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.