Umar Turaki is a writer from Jos, Nigeria. His writing has been shortlisted for the Miles Morland Scholarship, longlisted for the Short Story Day Africa Prize, and has won the AFREADA Photo-Story Competition. Such a Beautiful Thing to Behold (Little A/world; Farafina/Nigeria) is his first novel.

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Umar is also a filmmaker. He was a script editor and episode writer on Africa Magic's tv series Halita (Season One), head writer and director on the miniseries In Love and Ashes. He has also written, directed, and produced short films that have screened in international film festivals, including the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Durban International Film Festival in Durban, South Africa.

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He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia (Okanagan). He lives in Kelowna, BC with his wife and daughter.