--- description: Find out why N.K. Jemisin is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: N.K. Jemisin: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bd9f528f0f42570/698a1cb6b3fce32bc00c849e/nk-jemisin-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # N.K. Jemisin by Stacey Abrams  N.K. Jemisin Rochelle Brock N.K. Jemisin Rochelle BrockRochelle Brock W[orld-building](https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/5898000/nk-jemisin-fantasy-novels/ "undefined") is the core of extraordinary science fiction—the ability to craft the contours, substance and heft of whole societies. What [N.K. Jemisin](https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/5898000/nk-jemisin-fantasy-novels/ "undefined") accomplishes in each of her works defies the standard “us vs. them” narrative and instead dares readers to bring their lived experiences into the space she has imagined. As our nation grappled with the stubborn ephemera of justice and the harsh consequences of a pandemic, Jemisin, who received a 2020 MacArthur “genius” grant, constructed a revolutionary exploration of the places where we live in [_The City We Became_](https://time.com/5802555/nk-jemisin-the-city-we-became/ "undefined"). Through the anima of New York, she invited us all to become freedom fighters. We are slowly emerging from extended isolation; and for millions, the notion of a shared public identity remains brittle. But Jemisin’s genius is in how effortlessly she shatters our misconceptions about one another and our world, then invites us to dream to do better. _Abrams is the founder of Fair Fight Action and a former Democratic minority leader for the Georgia house of representatives_ N.K. Jemisin Is on the 2021 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095930/nk-jemisin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095930/nk-jemisin/"},"headline":"N.K. Jemisin","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:15:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:14.833Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095930/nk-jemisin/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021","T100 2021 Artists"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bd9f528f0f42570/698a1cb6b3fce32bc00c849e/nk-jemisin-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bd9f528f0f42570/698a1cb6b3fce32bc00c849e/nk-jemisin-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095930/nk-jemisin/","name":"N.K. Jemisin"}}]}] ```