Nadifa Mohamed was born in Hargeisa in 1981. In 1986, her family temporarily relocated to London; this move became permanent with the eruption of the Somali Civil War. Nadifa returned to Hargeisa, now in the new Republic of Somaliland, in 2008. Her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, was nominated for and awarded numerous prizes and awards, including the PEN Open Book Award. In 2013, she was selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.