Work
Writing, Speaking, Teaching and Judging
Mona Zutshi Opubor is a writer, editor, teacher, judge and public speaker. She has shown her versatility with multifaceted topics, including her identity as a foreign-born wife in Nigeria, her successes and misadventures as a parent, her childhood memories of India, her perspectives on global education in the 21st century, her challenges during the active Ebola outbreak in her city and her fascination with food, family and cultural fusion.
NIGERWIFE
The most popular piece ever printed in The Kalahari Review, this essay documents a foreign-born wife’s transition to Nigeria through her evolving relationship with her Nigerian husband.
My Driver, Sunday
In this humorous memoir piece initially published in Lowestoft Chronicle and later anthologised in Other Places, Mona’s relationship to a driver with poor driving skills reflects her bumpy adjustment to Lagos.
INTERVIEW ON NIGERIAN FM STATION
As a guest on the Desi Lagos Show on Cool 96.9 FM, Nigeria’s only India-themed weekly radio program, Mona delves into issues of interest to Indian and Nigerian listeners. She describes falling in love with her Nigerian husband, her adjustment to life in a megacity and how she keeps her mixed-race children connected to India.
BECOMING NIGERIAN AND RAISING CROSS-CULTURAL CHILDREN
In this Those African Chicks podcast, Mona discusses issues including raising kids who claim multiple identities, exploring Nigerian cuisine and culture and navigating marriage to a Nigerian as an outsider.
Copyright: The British Museum
VICTORIAN PUNITIVE EXPEDITIONS: ORIENTALIST RATIONALISATIONS BEHIND THE LOOTING OF COLONIAL ARTEFACTS
As an MSt student in Literature and Arts at the University of Oxford, Mona researched and executed distinction-level academic writing on fields ranging from English literature, philosophy, history, architecture, art history and material culture.
JUDGE OF NIGERIAN WRITING PRIZE
As a judge of the inaugural SprinNG Women Authors Prize, Mona was responsible for reading dozens of manuscripts and working with her fellow judges to pick a Nigerian female author and two runner ups for an investment into the purchasing, distribution and marketing of their book nationwide.
Lost in Lagos Magazine, lost in abuja magazine and lost in lagos plus magazine
Mona served as Editor and Featured Columnist of Lost in Lagos Magazine from its inception in February 2017 to its final issue in February 2024. Lost in Lagos Magazine was a monthly magazine available online or in print at Lagos hotels, coffee shops, grocery stories, pharmacies, restaurants, as well as on regional and international airlines. The print circulation of Lost in Lagos Magazine averaged 10,000-15,000 copies/month. Mona worked as Editor and Featured Columnist of Lost in Abuja Magazine from its inception in 2021 to its last issue in January 2024. Lost in Abuja Magazine was a monthly magazine available online or in print at Abuja hotels, coffee shops, grocery stories, pharmacies, restaurants, as well as on regional and international airlines. The print circulation of Lost in Abuja Magazine averaged 5,000-10,000 copies/month. Mona currently serves as Featured Columnist of Lost in Lagos Plus Magazine.