10 July 2025 · Alumni · Dr Rachel Morrison, Department of English
Amara Okafor, who graduated from Luma University with an MA in Creative Writing in 2019, has been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction for her debut novel The Weight of Rivers. The novel, published by an independent London press, follows three generations of a Nigerian-British family living in Wolverhampton and Luma from the 1960s to the present day.
Okafor developed early drafts of the manuscript during her MA studies, workshopping chapters with classmates and receiving guidance from her supervisor Dr Rachel Morrison. "Amara arrived with a clear voice and a commitment to portraying Midlands communities with honesty and warmth. The longlisting confirms what we recognised in her student work—she is a significant literary talent," Dr Morrison said.
The author returned to Luma in June 2025 to deliver a masterclass for current creative writing students and to read an excerpt at the annual Arts Festival. She credited the university's links with regional publishers and its supportive workshop culture for helping her refine the novel before submission to agents.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Chen invited Okafor to join the university's Alumni Ambassador programme. "Amara's success demonstrates that Luma graduates contribute to cultural life nationally while remaining connected to the communities that shaped them," she said.
The Women's Prize shortlist will be announced in March 2026. Okafor is currently working on a second novel set partly in Luma's industrial past, drawing on materials from the West Midlands Industrial Archive digitisation project.