Peace Adzo Medie
Peace Adzo Medie is a Liberian-born Ghanaian academic and writer of both fiction and nonfiction.
Early life and education
Medie was born in Liberia and moved to Ghana as a child, where she studied at OLA Girls Senior High School.[1][2] She received a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of Ghana. She then completed her postgraduate studies in the United States, where she obtained a Ph.D. in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.[3]
Career
Academic career
Medie worked as a research fellow at the University of Ghana and a postdoctoral research fellow at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.[4] She is now a senior lecturer in gender and international politics at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.[3][5] Her work was awarded the 2012–2013 African Affairs African Author Prize.[4]
Her scholarship focuses on gender, politics, and armed conflict.[3][5][6]
In 2020, Medie published her first book, the scholarly work Global Norms and Location Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa. It deals with post-conflict states' responses to violence against women.[3]
She is on the editorial board of the journal Politics & Gender and co-edits the journal African Affairs.[7][8]
Fiction writing
In addition to her academic work, Medie has produced several works of short fiction. In 2020, she published her debut novel, His Only Wife. It deals with the struggles of modern marriage in Ghana and the interconnecting lives of three women, Afi, Evelyn, and Muna.[3][9][10][11][12] It was described as "A Cinderella story set in Ghana" by Kirkus.[2]
His Only Wife was well received, appearing on several lists of best new releases, including the New York Times' Staff Picks.[13][14][15][16] In 2021, she was named "Best Author" by the Ghanaian news station Citi TV at its annual Entertainment Achievement Awards.[17]
Medie describes her fiction as being heavily influenced by her academic research into gender, violence, and politics.[3]
Selected works
- Medie, Peace A. (2020). Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-092296-2. (non-fiction)
- Medie, Peace Adzo (September 2020). His Only Wife. Algonquin Books. ISBN 978-1-64375-111-5. (fiction)
References
- "Peace Adzo Medie (Author of His Only Wife)". Sarah's Bookshelves. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "His Only Wife". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-07-01.
- Jackson, Jared (2020-09-03). "The PEN Ten: An Interview with Peace Adzo Medie". PEN America. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "Peace Medie". Social Science Research Council. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "Sociology, Politics and International Studies Directory". University of Bristol. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Dionne, Kim Yi (2020-04-18). "A conversation with Peace Medie about gender and conflict in Africa, writing research and fiction, and more". Ufahamu Africa. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "Editorial board". Cambridge Core. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "His Only Wife: A Conversation with Peace Adzo Medie about Writing Fiction and Gender and Class in Ghana". Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "Virtual Author Series: Peace Adzo Medie and Kiley Reid". Books & Books. 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Winik, Lisa; Morgan, Marion (2020-09-15). "To Have and To Hold: New Fiction about Marriage from Sue Miller and Peace Adzo Medie". WYPR. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Epstein, Rachel (2020-11-02). "'His Only Wife' Is a Modern Ghanaian Love Story That All Cultures Will Appreciate". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Gibney, Shannon (2020-08-28). "Review: 'His Only Wife,' by Peace Adzo Medie". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "They persisted: Tales of endurance lead the 10 best books of September". Christian Science Monitor. 2020-09-09. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Dundas, Deborah (2020-09-02). "New and notable releases this week include an Indigenous answer to 'Roughing it in the Bush' and the tale of a lawyer who lost two clients to hanging". The Star. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- "11 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. 2020-08-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Egan, Elisabeth (2020-08-13). "Are They Still Beach Books if You're Not Reading Them on the Beach?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Lartey, Nii Larte (2021-03-27). "Peace Adzo grabs best author prize at Citi TV's Entertainment Achievement Awards". Citi Newsroom. Retrieved 2021-03-27.