Sefi Atta was born in Lagos. She was educated there and in England, and also at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in the Penguin Book of New Black Writing. Atta has won literary prizes in several genres: for a play in the BBC's African Performance Competition, for a story in Zoetrope's Short Fiction Contest, and the opening section of Everything Good Will Come was short-listed for the Macmillan Writers Prize for Africa. This year, she has received awards from the BBC and Commonwealth Broadcasting Association for radio stories. Atta now lives in Mississippi, with her husband and daughter, and teaches creative writing.