Granta

“He had a very vigorous public life, which often obscures the fact that he is first and foremost a restless stylist,” John Freeman, editor of the literary magazine Granta, told The Times after Vargas Llosa’s Nobel win.

So is Oyeyemi, who was one of Granta’s “Best Young British Novelists” in 2013, while Orange, at 42, has won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the John Leonard Prize and the American Book Award.

He wrote “Dear Mr. President,” an acclaimed collection of short stories related to the first Gulf War published in 2002, and was part of Granta’s 2007 list of the 20 best young American novelists.

She was named by Granta as one of Britain's best British novelists under 40 earlier this year.

Matt Weiland, an editor at Granta, reached out to him and suggested turning the email into an essay for its new “Africa” issue.