Chimamanda Adichie is the first Nigerian to receive the Mary McCarthy award in New York..

Renowned Nigerian author and feminist Chimamanda Adichie has been awarded the revered Mary McCarthy Award for her work as a writer and prominent public awareness on social issues.

She became the first Nigerian to receive the prestigious award at an event that held at Bard College, New York recently.

The McCarthy award which is named after famous novelist Mary McCarthy who taught at Bard College for a year, is given in acknowledgement of engagement in the public sphere by an intellectual, artist, or writer. Some other notable recipients of the award are Margaret Atwood (the author of The Handmaid’s Tale), Zadie Smith, Mona Simpson, and Susan Sontag.

The Mary McCarthy Prize in short fiction includes a $2,000 cash award, publication of a collection of short stories or novella and a standard royalty contract.