Teju Cole, born Obayemi Babajide Adetokunbo Onafuwa, is a Nigerian American writer, photographer, and art historian. He is celebrated for his contributions to literature and art, with critics acknowledging his work as having "opened a new path in African literature."

His literary works include a novella, Every Day Is for the Thief (2007); a novel, Open City (2011); an essay collection, Known and Strange Things (2016); a photobook, Punto d'Ombra (2016); and a second novel, Tremor (2023).

Teju was born to Nigerian parents and grew up in Lagos. His mother taught French, while his father was a business executive who exported chocolate. The first book he read was an abridgment of Tom Sawyer, at the age of six. At fifteen, he published cartoons regularly in Prime People, Nigeria’s version of Vanity Fair. Two years later, he moved to the United States, where he has spent most of his time studying art history, except for an unhappy year in medical school. He currently resides in Brooklyn.