A Complex Systems Approach to Mapping the Contemporary Nigerian Literary Field

The Nigerian literary field, understood as the totality of authors, publishers, prizes, critics, academic institutions, and international circuits that together constitute Nigerian literary culture, exhibits the properties of a complex adaptive system whose dynamics cannot be adequately captured by conventional literary sociology or single-author critical approaches. This study applied a complex systems theoretical framework to map and analyse the contemporary Nigerian literary field from 2010 to 2023. A mixed-method complexity research design was employed, combining systematic network analysis of Nigerian literary field actors, dynamic field mapping, and qualitative case studies. The network analysis drew on a comprehensive database of author publication records, prize histories, publisher relationships, academic affiliations, and international translation circuits for 240 Nigerian authors. Network visualisation and analysis using Gephi software identified central nodes, peripheral actors, bridging figures, and structural holes in the field. The field mapping identified five sub-fields operating with varying degrees of autonomy: Lagos cosmopolitan literary culture, university-based literary criticism, Nollywood-adjacent popular fiction, diaspora Nigerian literature, and indigenous language literary production. Case studies tracked the trajectories of three authors (one from each of the South West, South East, and North East zones) through the field network, demonstrating how structural position shapes literary recognition opportunities. Original theoretical contributions include the concept of Field Boundary Negotiation, describing how individual authors manage the interface between multiple sub-fields, and the Peripheral Innovation Effect, theorising how North East and North West literary voices are systematically undervalued by the Lagos-centred field hierarchy despite their formal innovation.