Making Marvel magic: The creative spark from my hospital bed
When spinal surgery left tennis star Nnedi Okorafor paralysed, she turned to writing stories - stepping into a world of Spiderman and the Black Panther.
Nnedi Okorafor is an award-winning, Nigerian-American author of fantasy and science fiction.
Becoming a writer was not the most straightforward journey for Nnedi. Before her literary success she was a talented tennis player and dreamt of turning pro. However following a diagnosis of scoliosis, routine surgery to her spine left her temporarily paralysed.
Confined to her hospital bed, Nnedi found solace in her vivid imagination and began writing for the first time. It was the start of a highly successful career as an author and led to a request from Marvel to write some of their comics. Over the years she has written characters including Spiderman, the X-Men and the Avengers. Nnedi is also the first woman to write the character of T'Challa - the Black Panther, as well as his tech-loving sister, Shuri. Her latest book is called Death of the Author.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Nnedi Okorafor standing next to the comics character Black Panther. Photo credit: Anyaugo Okorafor. )
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