Bayo Ojikutu

Bayo Ojikutu is a Chicago-based author. His critically acclaimed first novel, 47th Street Black (2003), received both the Washington Prize for Fiction and the Great American Book Award. His second novel, Free Burning (2006), has been called “the most foreboding love letter the city has ever received” (Timeout Chicago) and “a searing portrayal of one of the shameful realities within an oft unjust society” (Black Issues Book Review). Ojikutu's short work has appeared in various anthologies, journals, & magazines, both traditional print and web-based in nature. His short fiction was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2009. He has taught creative writing, literature, and film adaptation at DePaul University and with the University of Chicago. Ojikutu and his family reside in Chicago.