Bayo Ojikutu (1971) is an author of Nigerian & African-American heritage. Ojikutu was born and raised in the Chicago (U.S.) metropolitan area.
His first novel, 47th Street Black (Random House/Crown, 2003), received both the Washington Prize for Fiction and the Great American Book Award. Ojikutu's short fiction has appeared in several publications, including the 2005 Akashic Press anthology Chicago Noir. His short, "Yayi and Those Who Walk on Water: A Fable" received a nomination from the Pushcart Prize provision for outstanding fiction published in small literary presses in 2009. By then, Crown Books had released his second novel, Free Burning (2006), to considerable critical acclaim.
Ojikutu has taught creative writing with DePaul and at the University of Chicago.