Uwem Akpan (1971) is a Nigerian Jesuit priest and the author of Say You�re One of Them (2008), a collection of five stories (each set in a different African country) published by Little, Brown & Company. It was picked by the Oprah Winfrey Book Club on September 17, 2009. He was born in the southern Nigerian village of Ikot Akpan Eda; his parents were teachers. He and his three brothers grew up speaking both English and Annang. He joined the Jesuit order at 19 in 1990 and became a priest in 2003; he later earned an M.F.A. degree in creative writing at the University of Michigan. He has also studied theology at Creighton University.