Globally renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has revealed that she faced as many as 25 rejections for her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, but never once considered giving up on writing.
Adichie shared this during an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Amazing Africans, which aired on Sunday, 3 August 2025. She emphasised that she would have kept writing even if she had never been published, describing writing as a spiritual calling and her life’s true vocation.
“Quitting writing was never an option for me because it’s what I believe I’m here to do. It’s spiritual,” she said. “I believe it’s a gift I’ve been given, and even if I had never been published, I’d still be writing today. The rejections were disheartening, but I never considered stopping.”
Adichie first disclosed the story of the 25 rejections during the grand finale of the inaugural Things Fall Apart Festival held in Enugu in July, where she was the headline speaker.
Reflecting further in the interview, she explained how the rejection letters shaped her understanding of the publishing world and helped her become more grounded.
“I wrote Purple Hibiscus as a university student in the US. I was living with my sister, helping care for my nephew, studying full-time, and writing,” she recalled. “When I finished the novel, I thought it was good and would be accepted quickly.”
“At the time—before emails—you sent manuscripts physically with a self-addressed envelope. I followed the advice to send out submissions in batches of four or five. I was confident; I thought four out of five would say yes. But when all five said no, I was shocked.”
Adichie said she used The Writer’s Marketplace to identify publishers and agents who specialised in literary or what was then termed ‘ethnic fiction’. “Each rejection humbled me and taught me that publishing in America was more complex than I had imagined,” she added.
Following Purple Hibiscus, Adichie went on to publish acclaimed works such as Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, and her most recent novel, Dream Count.
She has received numerous accolades, including the Orange Prize for Fiction (2007) for Half of a Yellow Sun, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (2005) for Purple Hibiscus, and a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist nomination for Americanah.
In recognition of her literary impact, Adichie received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (popularly known as the “Genius Grant”) in 2008 and was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.