Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her translator Judith Schwaab will receive the International Hermann Hesse Prize 2020. This was announced by the board of the Calw Hermann Hesse Foundation. The prize is one of the most renowned German literary prizes. It recognizes “a literary achievement of international standing in connection with its translation” – so it says in the statute.

The statement of the jury stated literally: “Adichie draws the portraits of the people so finely that you can empathize with each one, including the secondary characters, and feel with them. The culture of Nigeria, the nature, the different languages, the food and manners are portrayed so vividly that you can literally feel transported there.”

On Monday, May 18th, 2020, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered the address at the University of Pennsylvania’s 264th Commencement and was awarded an honorary degree. She is the first Black woman to deliver the address since 1978.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a Woman of The Decade Award from ThisDay Nigeria. She was selected as the editor’s choice and the award was presented to her by the iconic poet/playwright, JP Clark.

On January 11th, 2020, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received the first Belle van Zuylen Ring, an honorary prize set by the ILFU International Literature Festival, Utrecht, Netherlands. She was honored with the prize because of the unique way in which she knows how to display and question the world of today and its ingrained thinking patterns. The ring is a new international honorary prize, established by the ILFU in collaboration with the municipality of Utrecht for writers who reflect in an explicit and relevant way on contemporary society in their work.

She also delivered the Belle van Zuylen Lecture and was in conversation with Nancy Jouwe.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was named on This Day’s list of 20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020. Others on the list include Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nation, Amina J Mohammed, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, amongst others.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has received the 2019 BookCity Milano Prize at The BookCity Milano Prize in Italy. The prize aims to present the work of a writer who, through his/her compositions, could have been a witness of co-existence and civilization.

The award ceremony took place on the 16th of November, 2019 at The Triennale Theatre, Italy.

Half of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie has been named in the BBC’s list of “100 Novels That Shaped Our World.” The list covers English language novels written over the past 300 years.

Other writers on the list include Jane Austen (for “Pride and Prejudice”); Chinua Achebe (“Things Fall Apart”); Ernest Hemingway (“For Whom The Bell Tolls”); Charles Dickens (“Our Mutual Friend”), JK Rowling (the “Harry Potter” series); Ben Okri (“Astonishing The Gods”); and Toni Morrison (“Beloved”)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been awarded the prestigious UN Foundation Global Leadership Award by the United Nations Foundation, making her the youngest African and only Nigerian to have received the award.

Adichie was recognized for her work in Literature – most notably, her talent for using storytelling to connect with people across generations and cultures on issues related to gender, identity, racial inequality as well as for being a leader on the frontlines of global progress.

The award ceremony took place on the 20th of November, 2019.