African Studies Association announces ASA Christie and Chinua Achebe Fund
By Editor
THE African Studies Association is pleased to announce the establishment of the ASA Christie and Chinua Achebe Fund created to support two new initiatives: the Chinua Achebe Distinguished Lecture and the Chinua Achebe Manuscript Prize.
The Fund will support the new biennial Chinua Achebe Distinguished Lecture, which will highlight humanistic scholarship and creative industries including architecture, design, fashion, film, music, visual and performing arts, and literature. The inaugural Chinua Achebe Distinguished Lecture will be held in New Orleans at the 2026 ASA Annual Meeting. The fund will also support the new Chinua Achebe Manuscript Prize, which recognizes the best unpublished Africana literary manuscript each year. In addition to receiving the prize, the winner will be considered for publication by Penguin Press under the Chinua Achebe Imprint. The manuscript award will open in late 2026 for the inaugural award cycle in 2027.
The ASA Christie and Chinua Achebe Fund was made possible by a generous gift from Drs. Christie, Chinelo, Ikechukwu, Chidi, and Nwando Achebe. The Fund is named in honor of celebrated Nigerian author Dr. Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) and his wife, Dr. Christie Achebe, two educators whose partnership and lifelong dedication to teaching, storytelling, and the empowerment of African voices have inspired generations. Widely acclaimed as the father of modern African literature, Chinua Achebe forever transformed world literature—redefining the global narrative and restoring Africa’s voice to the literary canon. Born in Ogidi, Nigeria, Achebe studied English at University College, Ibadan (then affiliated with the University of London), and graduated in 1953. He began his career at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, where his gift for narrative first took shape.
In 1958, Achebe published Things Fall Apart (Heinemann) a literary masterpiece translated into 57 languages, and read by millions. Through its lyrical power and moral clarity, Achebe re-centered Africa within the global imagination, asserting the dignity and humanity of African life. Achebe began his university career in 1967 at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he was later named Professor Emeritus. He taught at numerous institutions including University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Guelph, Canada, Dartmouth College, and concluded as the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor at Brown University. Across a lifetime of brilliance, Achebe authored numerous novels, short stories, poems, essays, and children’s books, receiving many prestigious honors and awards including the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2010) as well as over 40 honorary degrees from universities in the U.S., U.K., Scotland, Canada, South Africa, and Nigeria. His belief in the power of story endures, inspiring writers and scholars around the world.
Dr. Christie Chinwe Achebe, EdD (b. 1935) is a distinguished scholar, counselor, and educator, who earned her doctorate from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the author of two books, two anthologies, and more than 60 articles published in academic journals and periodicals. Dr. Achebe has taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Bard College, and held a short consultancy at Brown University. A Phi Beta Kappa inductee, she made history in 1988 as the first woman President of the Nigerian Counseling Association. She currently serves as Board Chair of Achebe Masterworks and Director of the Christie and Chinua Achebe Foundation. Dr. Chinelo Achebe Ejueyitchie, EdD (b. 1962) is a scholar of education (Columbia University), Board member of Achebe Masterworks, and Senior Lecturer in Africana Studies and Women’s Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Dr. Ikechukwu Achebe, PhD (b. 1964) is a historian of African Religion (Cambridge University), and Director of the Igbo Language Project. Dr. Chidi Achebe, MD, MPH, MBA (b. 1967) is a physician (Dartmouth Medical School), Co-CEO of Achebe Masterworks, and CEO of African Integrated Development Enterprise (AIDE). Dr. Nwando Achebe, PhD (b. 1970) is a historian of Africa and gender (University of California, Los Angeles), Co-CEO of Achebe Masterworks, University Distinguished Professor, and Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History at Michigan State University.
Established in 1957, the African Studies Association is the flagship membership organization devoted to enhancing the exchange of information about Africa. The ASA is based in the United States and aims to cultivate a better understanding of the continent, by providing access to path-breaking research and facilitating interdisciplinary exchanges with African scholars and institutions. The ASA Annual Meeting fosters global networks by convening people with scholarly and other interests in Africa, and ultimately broadens professional opportunities in the field. The organization publishes two leading journals on Africa, African Studies Review and History in Africa and promotes an informed understanding of Africa to educational institutions, the public, businesses, media, and other interested communities.
