Jumoke Verissimo is a poet and novelist living in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of two well-received poetry collections, i am memory and The Birth of Illusion, both published in Nigeria and nominated for various awards, including the Nigeria Prize for Literature. Her debut novel, A Small Silence, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Edinburgh Festival Book Award and the RSL Ondaatje Prize and won the Aidoo-Synder Book Prize. Her latest book, Circumtrauma, is published by Coach House Books. Verissimo has just completed work on a novel and is currently working on a new poetry collection.