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{{short description|Nigerian American writer, photographer, and art historian}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Teju Cole
| image = ConsMunich Teju Cole at Literaturhaus Munich (10740032713) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Cole in 2013
| birth_name = Obayemi Babajide Adetokunbo Onafuwa
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|6|27}}
| birth_place = [[Kalamazoo, Michigan]], U.S.<ref name="DeRitter1" />
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = {{plainlist |
*[[Kalamazoo College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
*[[SOAS, University of London]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
*[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Philosophy|M.Phil]])
}}
| occupation = Novelist, photographer
| notable_works = ''[[Open City (novel)|Open City]]'' (2011)
| website = {{URL|www.tejucole.com}}
}}

'''Teju Cole''' ({{Audio|Teju_Cole.wav|listen}}; born June 27, 1975) is a [[Nigerian Americans|Nigerian American]] writer, photographer, and [[art history|art historian]].<ref>[https://www.tejucole.com/about-2/ Bio]. Teju Cole. Retrieved March 6, 2012.</ref> He is the author of a novella, ''[[Every Day Is for the Thief]]'' (2007); a novel, ''[[Open City (novel)|Open City]]'' (2011); an essay collection, ''Known and Strange Things'' (2016); a photobook, ''Punto d'Ombra'' (2016); and a second novel, ''[[Tremor (Cole novel)|Tremor]]'' (2023).<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lucas |first=Julian |date=2023-10-09 |title=Teju Cole's New Novel Is Haunted by the Trespasses of Art |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/16/tremor-teju-cole-book-review |access-date=2023-10-20 |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Critics have praised his work as having "opened a new path in [[African literature]]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Obi-Young |first1=Otosirieze |title=The Worldly Ways of Teju Cole |url=https://opencountrymag.com/cover-story-the-worldly-ways-of-teju-cole/ |website=Open Country Mag |date=4 July 2021 |access-date=November 20, 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life and education==
Cole was born in [[Kalamazoo, Michigan]], to Nigerian parents, and is the oldest of four children.<ref name=DeRitter1>{{cite web |last=DeRitter |first=Margaret |title=From ''New Yorker'' Envy to Literary Acclaim |website=BeLight |publisher=Kalamazoo College |date=September 2011 |url=http://www.kzoo.edu/beLightArchive/articles/?issueid=33&id=126 |access-date= June 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225172638/http://www.kzoo.edu/beLightArchive/articles/?issueid=33&id=126 |archive-date= February 25, 2015}}</ref> Cole and his mother returned to [[Lagos, Nigeria]], shortly after his birth,<ref name="Wood">{{cite magazine|last=Wood|first=James |author-link=James Wood (critic) |title=The Arrival of Enigmas|magazine=The New Yorker|date=February 28, 2011|url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2011/02/28/110228crbo_books_wood|access-date= August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="DeRitter2">{{cite news |last=DeRitter |first=Margaret |title=Teju Cole, a K-College grad, writes what he observes through narrator in 'Open City' |newspaper=Kalamazoo Gazette |date=May 27, 2011 |url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/05/teju_cole_a_k-college_grad_wri.html |access-date= June 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225175753/http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/05/teju_cole_a_k-college_grad_wri.html |archive-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> where his father joined them after receiving his MBA from [[Western Michigan University]].<ref name="DeRitter1" /> Cole moved back to the United States at the age of 17 to attend [[Western Michigan University]] for one year, then transferred to [[Kalamazoo College]], where he received his bachelor's degree in 1996.<ref name="DeRitter1" /> After dropping out of medical school at the [[University of Michigan]], Cole enrolled in an African art history program at the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]] in London,<ref name="DeRitter2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2014/03/every-day-a-chance-to-reflect/|title=Interview: Teju Cole's 'Every Day Is for the Thief'|last=Kassel|first=Matthew|date=March 10, 2014|work=[[The New York Observer]]|access-date= August 10, 2015}}</ref> then pursued a doctorate in art history at [[Columbia University]].<ref name="DeRitter1" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Brockes |first=Emma |title=Teju Cole: 'Two drafts of a tweet? Insufferable. But when I tweet I'm still a writer' |date=June 21, 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/21/teju-cole-every-day-thief-interview |access-date= February 25, 2015}}</ref> He is the [[Gore Vidal]] Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tejucole.com/about-2/|title=bio : TEJU COLE|last=Cole|first=Teju|language=en-US|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> at [[Harvard University]] and currently lives in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Teju Cole on What Needs to Change to Better Cover Stories in "Foreign" Countries|url=https://niemanreports.org/articles/teju-cole-on-what-needs-to-change-to-better-cover-stories-in-foreign-countries/|access-date=2021-11-22|website=Nieman Reports|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career==

===Author===
Cole is the author or co-author of several books, among them the novella ''[[Every Day Is for the Thief]]'';<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cassavarepublic.biz/every-day-is-for-the-thief-mainmenu-81|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601054613/http://cassavarepublic.biz/every-day-is-for-the-thief-mainmenu-81|url-status=dead|title=''Every Day is for the Thief'' page at Cassava Republic.|archive-date=June 1, 2013|access-date=Feb 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kolawole|first=Samuel|date=February 1, 2013|title=African novels to look out for|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/01/africa-books-chimamanda-aditchie|access-date=May 28, 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> the novel ''[[Open City (novel)|Open City]]'';<ref name="Wood" /> a collection of more than 40 essays, ''Known and Strange Things;''<ref name="NPR">{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2016/08/16/490132518/everything-is-fair-game-in-known-and-strange-things | title=Everything Is Fair Game In 'Known And Strange Things' | publisher=[[NPR]] | work=[[All Things Considered]] | date=August 16, 2016 | access-date=May 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gappah|first=Petina|date=August 7, 2016|title=Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole review – a world of riches|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/07/known-and-strange-things-teju-cole-review-essays|access-date=May 28, 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and a photobook, ''Punto d'Ombra'' (2016) (published in English in 2017 as ''Blind Spot'').<ref>{{Cite news|last=Selasi|first=Taiye|date=August 5, 2016|title=Teju Cole talks to Taiye Selasi: 'Afropolitan, American, African. Whatever'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/05/teju-cole-taiye-selasi-interview-known-strange-things|access-date=May 28, 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[Salman Rushdie]] has described Cole as "among the most gifted writers of his generation".<ref>[https://www.symphonyspace.org/event/8478/Literature/selected-shorts-teju-cole-salman-rushdie "Selected Shorts: Teju Cole & Salman Rushdie"], SymphonySpace.</ref>

He was a Distinguished [[Artist-in-residence|Writer in Residence]] at [[Bard College]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bard.edu/academics/faculty/profile/?id=31 |title=Bard Faculty: Teju Cole |publisher=[[Bard College]]. bard.edu |access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> From June to November 2014 he was "writer in residence" of the {{ill|Literaturhaus Zurich|de}} and the {{ill|PWG Foundation|de|Stiftung PWG}} in [[Zurich]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Writers in Residence: Teju Cole |url=https://www.writer-in-residence.ch/author/teju_cole/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.writer-in-residence.ch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Writers in Residence: Aliyeh Ataei |url=https://www.writers-in-residence.ch/de/author/teju_cole |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.writers-in-residence.ch}}</ref>

==== ''Every Day Is for the Thief'' ====
{{Main|Every Day Is for the Thief}}
Published in 2007, Cole's debut novel, ''Every Day Is for the Thief'', is the story of a young man who sets out to visit his home country, Nigeria, after being away for fifteen years.<ref name="Torkornoo">Torkornoo, Edem (2014). "[http://ayibamagazine.com/shuffering-and-shmiling-a-review-of-teju-coles-every-day-is-for-the-thief/ Shuffering and Shmiling: A Review of Teju Cole's ''Every Day Is for the Thief''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029113032/http://ayibamagazine.com/shuffering-and-shmiling-a-review-of-teju-coles-every-day-is-for-the-thief/ |date=2020-10-29 }}". ''Ayiba Magazine''. ayibamagazine.com. Retrieved 18 June 2017.</ref> The novel reads like a travel diary explaining the way of life in the city of Lagos and along the way, exposes how the democratic nature of corruption can affect anyone regardless of their status in the society.<ref name="Torkornoo"/>

====''Open City''====
{{Main|Open City (novel)}}
Written in 2011 and published in 2012, the novel focuses on "Nigerian immigrant Julius, a young graduate student studying psychiatry in New York City, has recently broken up with his girlfriend and spends most of his time dreamily walking around [[Manhattan]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cole |first=Teju |url=https://books.google.com.ng/books/about/Open_City.html?id=Yvz-7EMukOIC&redir_esc=y |title=Open City |date=2012-01-17 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8129-8009-7 |language=en}}</ref> The majority of ''Open City'' centers on Julius' inner thoughts as he rambles throughout the city, painting scenes of both what occurs around him and past events that he can't help but dwell on. Ostensibly in search of his grandmother, Julius spends a number of weeks in [[Belgium]], where he makes some interesting friends. Along the way, he meets many people and often has long discussions with them about philosophy and politics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murua |first=James |date=2014-01-08 |title=Teju Cole's Open City; A review |url=https://www.writingafrica.com/teju-coles-open-city-a-review/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |language=en-GB}}</ref> He seems to welcome these conversations. Upon returning to New York, he meets a young Nigerian woman who profoundly changes the way he sees himself."<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Open-City-Novel-Teju-Cole/dp/0812980093/ ''Open City: A Novel'' (9780812980097): Teju Cole: Books]. Amazon.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.</ref>

''Open City'' was translated into ten languages and has received generally positive reviews from literary critics. [[James Wood (critic)|James Wood]] in ''The New Yorker'' calls it a "beautiful, subtle, and, finally, original novel".<ref name="Wood"/> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "the novel's importance lies in its honesty."<ref>[[Miguel Syjuco]], [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/books/review/Syjuco-t.html?pagewanted=all "These Crowded Streets"], ''The New York Times''. Retrieved March 8, 2012.</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' characterizes ''Open City'' as "hypnotic", "transfixing", and a "striking debut" for Cole,<ref>Boyd Tonkin, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/open-city-by-teju-cole-6295197.html "Open City, By Teju Cole"], ''The Independent''. Retrieved March 8, 2012.</ref> while ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' referred to the novel as "a profoundly original work, intellectually stimulating and possessing of a style both engaging and seductive."<ref name=jones/>

==== ''Known and Strange Things'' ====
In 2016, Cole published his first collection of essays and [[Literary criticism|criticism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cole |first=Teju |url=https://books.google.com.ng/books/about/Known_and_Strange_Things.html?id=ldQpjwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y |title=Known and Strange Things: Essays |date=2016 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-32805-5 |language=en}}</ref> Writing for the ''New York Times'', the poet [[Claudia Rankine]] called it "an essential and scintillating journey,"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/books/review/teju-cole-known-and-strange-things.html|title=Teju Cole's Essays Build Connections Between African and Western Art|last=Rankine|first=Claudia|date=2016-08-09|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref> and singled out, in particular, his essays on photography, wherein he "reveals [his] voracious appetite for and love of the visual."

===Journalism and social commentary===
Cole is a regular contributor to publications including the ''[[New York Times]]'', ''[[Qarrtsiluni]]'', ''[[Granta]]'', ''[[The New Yorker]]'', ''[[Transition Magazine|Transition]]'' magazine, ''[[The New Inquiry]]'', and ''[[A Public Space]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Letter from Teju Cole |url=https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/,%20https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/a-letter-from-teju-cole |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=A Public Space |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Teju Cole |url=https://granta.com/contributor/teju-cole/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=Granta |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Quarrtsiluni'' (2005–2013) was an online literary magazine that attempted to edit blog software from social media; the purpose behind it was to give full access to writers/commentators of various issues "who never quite realized our dream of creating a print-on-demand option for each issue."<ref>{{cite web|title=Quarrtsiluni|date=12 August 2007|url=https://qarrtsiluni.com/how-to-contribute/|access-date= June 19, 2016}}</ref> His monthly column for ''[[The New York Times Magazine]],'' "On Photography," was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.magazine.org/asme/national-magazine-awards/winners-finalists|title=Winners and Finalists Database {{!}} ASME|website=www.magazine.org|access-date=January 28, 2017|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010181823/http://magazine.org/asme/national-magazine-awards/winners-finalists|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Cole has been credited with coining the term "[[White Savior Industrial Complex]]" with a series of tweets followed by an article published in ''[[The Atlantic]]''.<ref name="white-savior-industrial-complex">{{cite journal |last=Cole |first=Teju |date=March 21, 2012 |title=The White-Savior Industrial Complex |journal=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/ |access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>James Schneider, [http://newafricanmagazine.com/inside-white-saviour-industrial-complex/ "Inside the White Saviour Industrial Complex"], ''New African'', January 6, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.allvoices.com/article/100002297 "Africa, the white-savior industrial complex and the quest for ‘saviordom’ (Part 1)"], November 12, 2014.</ref> The original series of tweets that precipitated the article elicited a response from ''NY Times'' columnist [[Nicholas Kristof]] whom Cole named as an example of a white savior. Kristof mistakenly referred to Cole, a Nigerian-American, as a Ugandan, said that he believed Cole was part of a backlash against white humanitarians from middle-class African scholars. Kristof said that he felt uncomfortable because he thought that Cole was saying that "white Americans should not intervene in a humanitarian disaster because the victims are of a different skin color."<ref name="white-savior-industrial-complex" /> Cole responded, saying that he was concerned by Kristof's sentimentality and his lack of analysis of the context of humanitarian need in Africa: "All he sees is need, and he sees no need to reason out the need for the need."<ref name="white-savior-industrial-complex" />

Alongside [[Michael Ondaatje]], [[Francine Prose]], [[Peter Carey (novelist)|Peter Carey]], [[Rachel Kushner]], and [[Taiye Selasi]], Cole was one of six writers who protested the [[PEN America|PEN American Center]] gala honoring the French satirical magazine ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'' with its "Freedom of Expression Courage" award in April 2015 by withdrawing as co-hosts of the event.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/27/peter-carey-among-writers-to-protest-pen-honour-for-charlie-hebdo "Peter Carey among writers to protest PEN honour for Charlie Hebdo"], ''The Guardian'', April 27, 2015.</ref> Writing in ''The New Yorker'' two days after the massacre of the Charlie Hebdo staff by Islamists in Paris, Cole claimed that the French publication was "racist and Islamophobic", a charge met with criticism from numerous commentators,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/04/if-you-don-t-speak-french-how-can-you-judge-if-charlie-hebdo-racist|title=If you don't speak French, how can you judge if Charlie Hebdo is racist?|website=www.newstatesman.com|date=29 April 2015 |access-date=Feb 19, 2019}}</ref> including the president of [[SOS Racisme]], France's leading anti-racism organization, who praised Charlie Hebdo as "the greatest anti-racist weekly in this country."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/opinion/why-were-honoring-charlie-hebdo.html|title=Opinion | Why We're Honoring Charlie Hebdo|first1=Andrew|last1=Solomon|first2=Suzanne|last2=Nossel|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 1, 2015|access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref>

=== Photography ===
Cole's photography was shown in a solo exhibition in Milan in 2016 called ''Punto d'ombra.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.formafoto.it/2016/04/punto-dombra-teju-cole/|title=PUNTO D'OMBRA – TEJU COLE {{!}} Fondazione Forma per la fotografia|website=www.formafoto.it|access-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref> The photographs from this exhibition were published by the Italian publisher Contrasto Books in 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.contrastobooks.com/product_info.php?products_id=727|title=Punto d'ombra, ContrastoBooks|website=www.contrastobooks.com|language=it|access-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref> and by Random House in 2017 under the title ''Blind Spot.''<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551542/blind-spot-by-teju-cole/|title=Blind Spot by Teju Cole {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

For [[Performa (performance festival)|Performa 17]], Cole created the installation ''[https://archive.performa-arts.org/archive/17b-pc-0015 Black Paper]'' (2017) in which his photographs and videos were accompanied by a score of field recordings and readings of incisive text. The artwork was presented at the BKLYN Studios at City Point.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teju Cole - Artists - Steven Kasher Gallery |url=https://www.stevenkasher.com/artists/teju-cole |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.stevenkasher.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Social media===
Cole's innovative use of social media (particularly Twitter and [[Instagram]]) as a creative platform has been widely acknowledged.<ref>Adnan Khan, [https://www.vice.com/en/article/teju-cole-wants-to-keep-us-on-our-toes/ "Teju Cole is Way Better at Twitter Than You"], ''Vice'', August 28, 2013.</ref><ref>Sneha Vakharia, [https://www.catchnews.com/culture-news/teju-cole-s-instagram-feed-just-gave-us-a-masterclass-on-understanding-human-behaviour-1439988410.html "Teju Cole's instagram feed just gave us a masterclass on human behaviour"], Catch News, August 19, 2015.</ref><ref>Max Read,[http://gawker.com/5976074/here-are-seven-very-short-stories-about-drones-by-award-winning-author-teju-cole "Here Are Seven (Very) Short Stories About Drones by Award-Winning Author Teju Cole"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923062006/http://gawker.com/5976074/here-are-seven-very-short-stories-about-drones-by-award-winning-author-teju-cole |date=2015-09-23 }}, Gawker.com, January 15, 2013.</ref><ref>Keira Rathbone, [https://www.wired.com/2014/07/teju-cole-twitter/ "The Boundary-Pushing Novelist Who’s Made Twitter His New Medium"], ''Wired'', July 22, 2014.</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/2014/01/16/262473432/forget-the-new-yorker-storyteller-turns-to-twitter "Teju Cole Writes A Story A Tweet At A Time"], NPR, January 16, 2014.</ref>

==Awards and honors==
*2011 [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine's "Best Books of the Year" for ''Open City''<ref name="jones">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101086_2101097,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107194214/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101086_2101097,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 7, 2012 |title=Top 10 Fiction Books |magazine=Time |author=Radhika Jones |date=December 7, 2011 |access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>
*2012 [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] finalist for ''Open City''<ref>[https://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2012/03/teju_coles_mesmerizing_open_ci.html "Teju Cole's mesmerizing 'Open City' up for the NBCC fiction award"]. cleveland.com (November 1, 2011). Retrieved March 6, 2012.</ref>
*2012 [[PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel]] winner for ''Open City''<ref>[https://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2252 "Bard College Writer in Residence Teju Cole Wins 2012 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award".] Bard College.</ref>
*2012 [[Ondaatje Prize]] shortlist for ''Open City''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/29/ondaatje-prize-rahul-bhattacharya |author=Alison Flood |title=2012 Ondaatje prize 2012 goes to debut novel by Rahul Bhattacharya |date=May 29, 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=May 29, 2012}}</ref>
*2012 [[The Morning News (online magazine)#The Tournament of Books|''The Morning News'' Tournament of Books]] finalist<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/2012/ |title=The Sisters Brothers v. Open City |work=[[The Morning News (online magazine)|The Morning News]] |author=Duncan Murrell |date=March 30, 2012 |access-date=May 31, 2013 |archive-date=March 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317061323/http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/2012/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2013 [[International Literature Award]] for the German-language translation by Christine Richter-Nilsson of ''Open City''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.de/germanys-international-literature-award-honors-worlds-best-books/a-16782063 |title=Germany's International Literature Award honors world's best books |author=Silke Bartlick |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=May 2, 2013 |access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.de/german-literature-prize-for-teju-coles-debut-nyc-novel/a-16850845 |title=German literature prize for Teju Cole's debut NYC novel |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |author=Aygül Cizmecioglu |date=31 May 2013 |access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>
*2015 [[Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes|Windham–Campbell Literature Prize]] (Fiction) valued at $150,000<ref>{{cite web |url=http://windhamcampbell.org/2015/winner/teju-cole |title=Prize Citation for Teju Cole |publisher=Windham–Campbell Literature Prize |date=February 24, 2015 |access-date=February 25, 2015 |archive-date=April 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401011348/http://windhamcampbell.org/2015/winner/teju-cole |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2018 [[Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship]] for Creative Arts<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/teju-cole/|title=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation {{!}} Teju Cole|language=en-US|access-date=August 21, 2019|archive-date=June 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621000915/https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/teju-cole/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Publications==

=== First edition in English in the United States ===
* {{Cite book |title=Every Day Is for the Thief |last=Cole |first=Teju |publisher=[[Random House]] |year=2014 |isbn=9780812995787 |edition=hardcover 1st |location=New York |author-link=Teju Cole |title-link=Every Day Is for the Thief}} A novella.
* {{Cite book |title=Open City |last=Cole |first=Teju |title-link=Open City (novel) |author-link=Teju Cole |author-mask=2 |date= |publisher=Random House |year=2011 |isbn=9781400068098 |edition=hardcover 1st |location=New York}} A novel
* {{Cite book |title=Known and Strange Things |last=Cole |first=Teju |publisher=Random House |year=2016 |author-link=Teju Cole |author-mask=2 |isbn=9780812989786 |location=New York}} An essay collection.
* {{Cite book |title=Blind Spot |last=Cole |first=Teju |author-link=Teju Cole |author-mask=2 |date= |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780399591075 |year=2017 |edition=English-language 1st |location=New York}} A [[Photo-book|photobook]].
* {{Cite book |title=Black Paper: Writing in a Dark Time |last=Cole |first=Teju |year=2021 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |author-link=Teju Cole |author-mask=2 |isbn=9780226641355 |location=Chicago}} Text and illustrations.
* {{Cite book|title=Tremor|last=Cole|first=Teju|year=2023|publisher=Random House|isbn=9780812997118|author-link=Teju Cole|author-mask=2|edition=hardcover 1st|location=New York}} A novel.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fan |first=Kit |date=2023-10-20 |title=Tremor by Teju Cole review – art, history and violence |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/20/tremor-by-teju-cole-review-art-history-and-violence |access-date=2023-10-20 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=For Teju Cole, Art Is a Lens on a History of Violence |work=The New York Times |date=17 October 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/books/review/teju-cole-tremor.html |access-date=2023-11-22 |last1=Dillon |first1=Brian }}</ref>

=== First edition in England ===

* {{Cite book|title=Fernweh|last=Cole|first=Teju|year = 2020|author-link=Teju Cole|author-mask=2|isbn=9781912339549|publisher=[[Mack (publishing)|Mack Books]]|edition=hardcover|location=London}} Photographs.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 February 2020 |title=Swiss bliss: Teju Cole's Alpine wanderlust – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/feb/06/teju-coles-swiss-wanderlust-in-pictures |access-date=2021-12-25 |newspaper=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
* {{Cite book|title=Golden Apple of the Sun|last=Cole|first=Teju|year = 2021|author-link=Teju Cole|author-mask=2|isbn=9781913620219|publisher=[[Mack (publishing)|Mack Books]]|location=London}} Photographs and text.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 August 2021 |title=Book Review: Golden Apple of the Sun |url=https://museemagazine.com/culture/2021/8/5/book-review-golden-apple-of-the-sun |access-date=2021-12-25 |website=Musée Magazine}}</ref>
* {{Cite book|title=Pharmakon|last=Cole|first=Teju|year=2024|publisher=[[Mack (publishing)|Mack Books]]|isbn=9781915743398|author-link=Teju Cole|author-mask=2|edition=paperback 1st|language=en|publication-place=London}} Photographs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=Book Review: Pharmakon by Teju Cole |url=https://museemagazine.com/culture/2024/3/19/book-review-pharmakon-by-teju-cole |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=Musée Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== First edition published elsewhere ===

* {{Cite book |title=Every Day Is for the Thief |last=Cole |first=Teju |title-link=Every Day Is for the Thief |publisher=[[Cassava Republic Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9789780805159 |location=Abuja |author-link=Teju Cole |edition=paperback 1st}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Every Day is for the Thief – Cassava Republic Press |url=https://cassavarepublic.biz/product/every-day-is-for-the-thief/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{Cite book |title=Punto d'ombra |last=Cole |first=Teju |author-link=Teju Cole |author-mask=2 |date=2016 |publisher=Contrasto |others=Foreword by [[Siri Hustvedt]] |isbn=9788869656538 |location=Rome |trans-title=Blind Spot |translator-last=Gioia Guerzoni |language=Italian}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Punto d\\\'ombra |url=https://contrastobooks.com/in-parole/444-punto-d-ombra.html |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=ContrastoBooks |language=it}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website}}
*James Wood, [https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2011/02/28/110228crbo_books_wood "The Arrival of Enigmas"], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', February 2, 2011.
*[http://bombmagazine.org/article/10023/teju-cole Interview with Aleksandar Hemon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607153343/http://bombmagazine.org/article/10023/teju-cole |date=2015-06-07 }} in ''[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb]]'' magazine.
*Two-part essay on Cole's construction of sight and vision in ''Open City'': [http://danieldaviswood.com/2014/04/29/writing-seeing-open-city-1 Part 1], [http://danieldaviswood.com/2014/05/30/writing-seeing-open-city-2 Part 2]
*Edem Torkornoo, [http://ayibamagazine.com/shuffering-and-shmiling-a-review-of-teju-coles-every-day-is-for-the-thief/ "Shuffering and shmiling": A review of Teju Cole's ''Every Day Is For The Thief''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029113032/http://ayibamagazine.com/shuffering-and-shmiling-a-review-of-teju-coles-every-day-is-for-the-thief/ |date=2020-10-29 }}, ''Ayiba Magazine'', June 18, 2014.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71JZEWGtAm4 My Looking Became Sacred. An interview with Teju Cole]. Video by [[Louisiana Channel]].

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Teju}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:African-American novelists]]
[[Category:American people of Nigerian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Yoruba descent]]
[[Category:Nigerian male novelists]]
[[Category:Bard College faculty]]
[[Category:Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:The New Yorker people]]
[[Category:Writers from Michigan]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
[[Category:Yoruba writers]]
[[Category:Kalamazoo College alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Nigerian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:African-American male writers]]

Teju Cole - Revision history

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