Nigerian-American author Chinedu Achebe has been honored with the 2025 NYC Big Book Award® in the category of African American Fiction for his novel When It All Falls Down.
The NYC Big Book Award, judged by publishers, writers, editors, booksellers, librarians, and copywriters, is open to authors from around the world. Submissions in 2025 arrived from countries including Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, alongside entries from major U.S. publishing hubs such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Achebe’s winning novel, When It All Falls Down, is the sequel to The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi (2017). Set against the backdrop of Houston, Texas during the global Covid-19 pandemic, the book follows Obi and Nkechi Ifeanyi and their children as they grapple with marriage, identity, and resilience in an era marked by racial tension and the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Through their struggles, Achebe paints a portrait of love, endurance, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Achebe is a Nigerian American writer who graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Economics. He published his debut book, Blunted on Reality, in 2012, followed by The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi in 2017, which later won the 2023 Independent Press Award for African American Fiction. His essays have appeared in the Huffington Post, Medium, and Bella Naija.
The NYC Big Book Award is announced annually every fall, while its sister program, the Independent Press Award, is presented each spring.
Winners of both programs will be celebrated at the BookCAMP industry conference and awards dinner, scheduled for April 24–25, 2026, in New York City.
To view the list of NYC Big Book winners, please click here.
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
