GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been named the recipient of the 2025 Mermaid Award, the literary prize established by the Gothenburg Book Fair, organizers announced.
Adichie, celebrated for works such as “Americanah” and “Half of a Yellow Sun,” is the second author to receive the honor, known as Sjöjungfrun in Swedish. The award was created in 2024 to mark the book fair’s 40th anniversary.
“I am grateful for this award that recognizes my vocation, for that is what writing fiction has always been for me: a vocation, the defining center of my life,” Adichie said in a statement. “I am as moved by the rich literary symbolism of the mermaid as I am by the knowledge that my work has deeply touched Swedish readers.”
The inaugural Mermaid Award was presented in 2024 to the prolific American author Joyce Carol Oates. The award committee at the time praised Oates as “a literary heavyweight” and “one of the greatest authors of our time.”
The prize includes a unique, hand-carved statuette of a mermaid created by Swedish sculptor Panos Mamakos.
The award ceremony for Adichie will take place during the 2025 Gothenburg Book Fair.
