🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi is a British author of Nigerian origin born on 10 December 1984 and specializes in general fiction writing. Born in Nigeria, her family moved to London when she was only four. Her very first writing was a novel by the name The Icarus Girl that she wrote while studying for her A-level while studying at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial school. The performance of her two plays Victims and Juniper’s Whitening by her fellow students while at Corpus Christi College received positive reviews, which highly motivated her. Methuen later published the plays. Helen Oyeyemi has authored five different books; The Icarus Girl was released in 2005. Later in 2007, her second book The Opposite House was released after being published by Bloomsbury.
All Book Series by Helen Oyeyemi
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2016
The BBC National Short Story Award 2010
Series opener · book 1 of 15 · published 2010 Co-authored · David Constantine,Sarah Hall,Aminatta Forna,Jon McGregor
The BBC National Short Story Award 2011
Book 2 of 15 · published 2011 Anthology · Alison MacLeod,M.J. Hyland,Jon McGregor,K.J. Orr,Sue MacGregor
The BBC International Short Story Award 2012
Book 3 of 15 · published 2012 Anthology · Miroslav Penkov,Carrie Tiffany,Deborah Levy,M.J. Hyland,Clive Anderson,Lucy Caldwell,Henrietta Rose-Innes,Julian Gough,Chris Womersley,Krys Lee,Adam Ross
The BBC National Short Story Award 2013
Book 4 of 15 · published 2013 Anthology · Lionel Shriver,Sarah Hall,Lavinia Greenlaw,Lucy Wood
The BBC National Short Story Award 2014
Book 5 of 15 · published 2014 Anthology · Tessa Hadley,Lionel Shriver,Zadie Smith,Rose Tremain,Francesca Rhydderch,Alan Yentob
The BBC National Short Story Award 2015
Book 6 of 15 · published 2015 Anthology · Jeremy Page
BBC National Short Story Award 2016
Book 7 of 15 · published 2016 Anthology · Hilary Mantel,Claire-Louise Bennett,Lavinia Greenlaw,Tahmima Anam,Jenni Murray,K.J. Orr
The BBC National Short Story Award 2017
Book 8 of 15 · published 2017 Co-authored · Joanna Trollope,Jenni Fagan,Benjamin Markovits,Will Eaves,Cynan Jones
The BBC National Short Story Award 2018
Book 9 of 15 · published 2018 Anthology · Kerry Andrew,Sarah Hall,Ingrid Persaud,Nell Stevens,Kiare Ladner,Stig Abell
The BBC National Short Story Award 2019
Book 10 of 15 · published 2019 Anthology · Lucy Caldwell,Jo Lloyd,Lynda Clark,Jacqueline Crooks,Nikki Bedi
The BBC National Short Story Award 2020
Book 11 of 15 · published 2020 Anthology · Eley Williams,Sarah Hall,Caleb Azumah Nelson,Jan Carson,Jack Houston
The BBC National Short Story Award 2021
Book 12 of 15 · published 2021 Anthology · Danny Rhodes,James Runcie,Richard Smyth,Lucy Caldwell,Rory Gleeson,Georgina Harding
The BBC National Short Story Award 2022
Book 13 of 15 · published 2022 Anthology · Kerry Andrew,Elizabeth Day,Jenn Ashworth,Anna Bailey,Vanessa Onwuemezi,Saba Sams
The BBC National Short Story Award 2023
Book 14 of 15 · published 2023 Anthology · Kamila Shamsie,NickMulgrew,NaomiWood,CheriseSaywell,KPatrick,Reeta Chakrabarti
The BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Latest in the series · book 15 of 15 · published 2024 Anthology · Lucy Caldwell,Ross Raisin,Will Boast,Manish Chauhan,Paddy O’Connell,Vee Walker
One for the Trouble: Book Slam Volume 1
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2011 Co-authored · Irvine Welsh,Simon Armitage,Patrick Ness,Jon Ronson,William Boyd,Hari Kunzru,Joe Dunthorne,Bernardine Evaristo,Richard Milward,Roger Robinson,Paul Murray,Don Paterson,Patrick Neate,Jon McGregor,Sophie Woolley,Luke Wright,Tim Key,Kae Tempest
Too Much Too Young
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2012 Anthology · David Nicholls,Jeremy Dyson,Jackie Kay,Nikesh Shukla,Patrick Neate,Emylia Hall,Craig Taylor,Diana Evans,Jesse Armstrong,Marina Lewycka
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird: Ten Kafkaesque Stories
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2024
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Helen Oyeyemi?
Helen Oyeyemi is a British author of Nigerian origin born on 10 December 1984 and specializes in general fiction writing. Born in Nigeria, her family moved to London when she was only four. Her very first writing was a novel by the name The Icarus Girl that she wrote while studying for her A-level while studying at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial school.
Which Helen Oyeyemi series should I start with?
The best place to start is The BBC National Short Story Award series, the earliest of Helen Oyeyemi's multi-book series: it opens with The BBC National Short Story Award 2010 (2010) and runs to 15 books across 2010–2024, ending with The BBC National Short Story Award 2024 (2024).
How many books has Helen Oyeyemi written?
Helen Oyeyemi has 31 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2005 and 2025. 17 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being The BBC National Short Story Award series with 15 books — and 14 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Helen Oyeyemi's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Helen Oyeyemi's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are The BBC National Short Story Award (2010–2024, 15 books) and Book Slam Annual (2011–2012, 2 books).
How are Helen Oyeyemi's books organised into series?
This guide splits Helen Oyeyemi's 31 books into 2 named series and 14 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: The BBC National Short Story Award (15 books, 2010–2024); Book Slam Annual (2 books, 2011–2012).