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Posted On Friday, 28 Dec 2018 By Admin. Under Uncategorized
At the end of each year it's been Nigerian Writers' Awards (NWA) tradition to release 100 outstanding Nigerian Writers under 40 who have distinguished themselves in their respective writing fields and cover virtually all categories of writing (Media, Literature, Entertainment and Arts).
After six months of critical reviews, series of interviews, in-depth research, nominations online and offline, thousands of names were received and finally here is our list of 100 most influential Nigerian writers under 40 making change, impacting lives with their writing, earning national and global achievements in the year under review (November 2017- October 2018).
NB: In no order of ranking;
ABIMBOLA DARE (37) – Faith-based writer.
Abimbola Dare, author of the Christian fiction "The Small Print" and "when broken chord sings". She was born on the 31st of December 1981 in Lagos, Nigeria where she attended Vivian Fowler Memorial College for girls.
She has a bachelor degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Woverhampton and MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University. She is a programme manager at a Global Publishing Firm in the United Kingdom.
In 2017 she released her new book titled "Accidental Wife". Her fourth novel, The Last Wedding Anniversary was released in April 2018.
In 2018, she won the prestigious Bath Novel Award for her first literary novel and was a finalist in The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor Award.
ABUBAKAR ADAM IBRAHIM (39)- Novelist
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (born, 1979) is an award-winning Nigerian writer and journalist who shook Northern Nigeria with his debut novel Season of Crimson Blossoms which explores a steaming love affair between an older woman and a young rebel warrior.
Some of his accolades include BBC African Performance Prize and ANA Plateau/Amatu Braide Prize for Prose. In 2015 he was included in the Africa anthology of the most promising sub-Saharan African writers under the age of 40.
His debut short story collection "The Whispering Trees" was long-listed for the inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2014 and shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing.
In 2016 he won the NNLG prize for literature worth $100,000, Ibrahim was also the recipient of the 2016 Goethe-Institut & Sylt Foundation African Writer's Residency Award and he was chair of judges for the 2016 Etisalat Flash Fiction Prize.
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is the 2018 recipient of the Michael Elliot Award for Excellence in African Storytelling. He won the Award for his report in Granta titled "All That Was Familiar.
ADRIAN IGONIBO BARRETT (39)- Novelist
Adrian Igonibo Barrett (born, 26 March 1979) is Nigerian writer born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria to a Nigerian mother and the Jamaican novelist Lindsay Barrett. He studied agriculture at the University of Ibadan.
In April 2014 Barrett was named as one of 39 sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 in the Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club Africa project celebrating Port Harcourt UNESCO World Book Capital 2014.
His second collection of stories, Love Is Power, or Something Like That, was published in 2013; His debut novel, entitled Blackass, was published in 2015.
He was a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellow in 2018.
AINEHI EDORO- Literary blogger. Curator, brittlepaper.com
Ainehi Edoro is a literary blogger, founder and curator of brittlepaper.com, born in Akure, grew up in Benin City, Nigeria and currently resides in Chicago.
She i s the editor of Brittle Paper, a literary blog for fans of African literature. Her doctoral dissertation is a study of Africa's formal contributions to the novel.
In 2016, her writings were published on The Guardian, where she observed discrimination in the perception of African writers by some stakeholders in the literary circle. She was listed as one of the five most influential Nigerian women in 2016 by Guardian.
In June 2018, she was the lead judge at GT Bank writing contest. She is also the announcer of the African literary person of the year through Brittle Paper. She was included in OkayAfrica's 100 Women list (2018). She is currently working on a book, Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think.
ARUKAINO UMUKORO (39)- Award winning Journalist
Arukaino Umukoro (born May 19, 1979) is a Nigerian journalist and writer, a senior correspondent with the Punch Newspaper where he writes for the feature desk covering economics, education, environment and health issues, environment and sports.
In 2015 he won the Sports Reporting award in the CNN MultiChioce African Journalist Awards for his story on white elephant stadiums in Nigeria.
In 2016, Umukoro concluded a Master's programme in Media and Communication at the Pan-African University. In 2017 he won the Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Awards for the Reporter of the year (first runner up).
In 2017, he was appointed into the Nigerian Government as an Aide on Communication Projects to the Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
AMAKA OZUMBA-AZIE – Romance Writer
Amaka Ozumba-Azie was born in Lagos, Nigeria where she had her primary education and later to Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria for her secondary education before proceeding to the University in Benin City where she studied Medicine and Surgery.
Amaka is a wife and a mother, a lover of her Father Land. A woman who loves to tell the African Story, she is the author of Melodies of Love, Thorns and Roses, and Starting Over Again, all three are set in Nigeria and showcase the beauty and complexities of the country. She also authored The Senator's Daughter and The Governor's Wife.
AMARA NICOLE OKOLO- Novelist.
Amara Nicole Okolo (born, November 22) is a young lawyer from Anambra State. She grew up in Kaduna, Owerri, Akwa Ibom and Umuahia, which she believes helped in making her the writer she is today.
Her novel, 'Black Sparkle Romance' was published in 2014 by Ankara Press, an imprint of Cassava Republic. References to her work have appeared on The Guardian UK and Africa, CNN, Africa in Words, Okay Africa, Brittle Paper and Chimurenga the Chronic and Reuters (Africa).
She is the author of Black Sparkle Romance, a novel published by Ankara Press in 2016, UK/Europe) and of Son of Man, a collection of short stories published by Parresia Publishers (2016). References to her work have appeared on The Guardian, Brittle Paper, Chimurenga the Chronic and Aljazeera. She was amongst the participants of the 2015 Farafina Workshop by Chimamanda Adichie.
In 2017 her essay, "The Things We Never Say" was published by Catapult. She is today one of the top 10 Positive African Women(#10PAW) we celebrate on women's day.
AKWAEKE EMEZI (31) – Creative Writer
Akwaeke Emezi is an Igbo/Tamil writer and video artist based in liminal spaces. Born in Umuahia and raised in Aba, Nigeria, Akwaeke holds two degrees, including an MPA from New York University.
Her memoir work was selected and edited by Chimamanda Adichie ('Sometimes The Fire Is Not Fire') and included in The Fader's 'Best Culture Writing of 2015' ('Who Will Claim You?'). Her experimental short UDUDEAGU won the Audience Award for Best Short Experimental at the 2014 BlackStar Film Festival and has screened in over thirteen countries.
She received a 2015 Morland Writing Scholarship to write her second novel, and is a 2016 Kimbilio Fellow. Akwaeke's writing has been published by Granta Online and Commonwealth Writers, among others, and her cultural commentary has appeared on Vogue.com.
In 2017, she was awarded a Global Arts Fund grant for the video art in her project The Unblinding, and a Sozopol Fellowship for Creative Nonfiction.
Her debut autobiographical novel, FRESHWATER, is forthcoming from Grove Atlantic in February 2018 and her short story 'Who Is Like God' won the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa.
Akwaeke was the chair judge for the Koffi Addo prize 2018.
AYODELE OLORUNFUNMI SOGUNRO (34) -Author, Everything in Nigeria is going to Kill You.
Ayọ Sogunro (born 1984) is a Nigerian social critic, human rights activist and writer. He is notable as an essayist and satirist with right-wing libertarian tendencies."
He is the author of three books and co-author of one. His most recent books are the widely-acclaimed short-stories, The Wonderful Life of Senator Boniface and other Sorry Tales; and the not-so-widely-acclaimed collection of critical essays: Everything in Nigeria is going to Kill You.
In 2016, his essay "One More Nation Bound in Freedom", originally published in Transition, was nominated for the Gerald Kraak Award for African Writing.
AYOBAMI ADEBAYO (30) Author, Stay with Me.
Ayobami Adebayo, (born, 29 January 1988) holds B.A and M.A degrees in Literature in English from Obafemi Awolowo University and she was awarded a UEA International Bursary to study Creative Writing (MA Prose fiction) at the University of East Anglia in 2013. She was shortlisted for the Miles Morland Scholarship in 2014 and 2015.
Her debut novel, Stay with Me, was shortlisted for the Kwani? Manuscript Prize in 2013 and is forthcoming from Kwani? (Kenya, October 2016), Canongate (Spring 2017,UK/ Commonwealth) and Knopf (Spring 2017, USA/Canada). In 2017 she was nominated and won the Future Awards prize for Arts and Culture.
Stay with Me has been longlisted for 2019 Dublin International Literary Award.
BASIRU SUNDAY AMUNENI (36)- Award winning Poet.
Basiru Sunday Amuneni fondly called Bash (born January 17, 1982) is a native of Makurdi in Benue State. He had his first degree in Architecture and holds a Masters Degree in Facilities Management. He is an essayist, performance poet, and has over eight years' experience in a top Nigerian Bank. He is the Co-editor of 'Through the Eyes of Innocence' – a collection of poetry written by children under the age of 15 years. The compilation captures their honest and naïve thoughts on the Nigerian situation.
Bash's first spoken word album, titled "Freedom" was launched in September, 2015. Bash is a TEDx speaker and has performed at various platforms around the Country.
He has contributed his poems to some National Dailies and International Magazines. He is a member of the Abuja Literary Society (ALS) and one of the figures behind the Open Mic Movement- Freedom Hall Nigeria which supports poetry and alternative music. He loves to draw and paint in his free time.
In 2016 he was invited amongst 35 poets and writers across Africa as a guest at the Lagos International Poetry Festival. He is the author of "There is a lunatic in every town".
In January 2018, he was a guest performance poet at the commissioning of African Development Bank Head Office building in Abuja by The Nigerian Vice President.
BÁYỌ̀ OLÚPOHÙNDÀ (39) – Journalist, Editor-in-chief, legit.ng
Báyọ̀ Olúpohùndà was born in Okitipupa on the 5th of February 1979. He got his BA (Hons) degree in English from Lagos University and currently studying Media and Communication at Pan-Atlantic University.
In 2014, he emerged a finalist in the CNN African Journalist award. Bayo was also nominated for a Diamond Awards for Media Excellence for his work. He is the author of the recently published non-fiction, Are You Not A Nigerian? (Narrative Landscape).
He has worked as a teacher, freelance journalist and columnist for frontline Nigerian newspapers and online media. He began his writing career at The Guardian Sunday, and later moved on to contribute to 234NEXT and Punch Newspapers.
Bayo is currently the editor-in-chief of legit.ng formally NAIJ.com.
CHIDERA NNEOMA OKOLIE (25)- Novelist
Chidera Nneoma Okolie (born, 27 March 1993) is a lawyer and creative writer. Her debut Novel "When Silence Becomes Too Loud" a Crime and Suspense book was written during her university days and was released in December 2014.
Her novel "When silence becomes too loud" was endorsed by the former president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan.
In June, 2015, she was nominated for the African Achievers Award held in South Africa and in September of the same year, she was awarded a Guinness Made of Black Heroine.
In 2016, she bagged three awards, The Fiction Writer of the Year by the Nigerian Writers Awards, The Fiction Writer of the year by the Xperience Womanity Awards and The Most Outstanding Fiction Writer of the year by Alpha Gamma Multimedia Limited.
She was named one of the Ambassadors for "SHE LEADS AFRICA". Also in 2016, she was shortlisted for the Etisalat prize for flash fiction.
In July 2017, she was awarded with an African Icon Award and the Nigerian teen choice awards for Novel Icon of the year and Outstanding Female Personality of the year.
Still in 2017 Chidera became an ambassador of one of Nigeria's leading telecommunication company "Smile Networks" and launched her second book "UNFORGIVEN"; A collection of Psychological thriller stories.
In 2018 she presented a book "THE FUTURE", a collection of short story and poems by children of selected Nigerian schools.
CHIBUNDU ONUZO (27)- Novelist
Chibundu Onuzo is an inspiration. She was only 19 years old when she broke into the global literary scene. She had signed a 2-year book deal with the high profile British publishing house, Faber and Faber.
In 2012, Spider King's Daughter happened, and it quickly became clear that she had not only lived up to the hype but had written herself indelibly into the history of contemporary Nigerian fiction. Spider King's Daughter is not your regular Lagos story.
Her first novel, The Spider King's Daughter, won a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize, and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Etisalat Prize for Literature.
Chibundu is also the author of "Welcome to Lagos" published by Faber and Faber.
CHIGOZIE OBIOMA (32)- Novelist
Chigozie Obioma is a Nigerian writer of Igbo descent born in 1986. He is an assistant Professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been called, in a New York Times book review, "the heir to Chinua Achebe.
His novel, The Fishermen was a New York Times Sunday Book Review Editor's Choice selection, one of the American Library Association's five best debuts of spring 2015, a Publishers Weekly book of the week, and one of Kirkus Reviews′ "10 Novels to Lose Yourself In."
He was the winner of 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Debut Literary Work and nominated for the fiction writer of the year at the 2016 Nigerian Writers Awards.
CHIKASANDRAODUAH (32)- Multi Award winning Journalist
Chika Sandra Oduah (born, 14 March 1986) is a Nigerian-American journalist who works as a television news producer, writer, photographer and correspondent who is Known for her unique human-focused ethnographic reporting style with an anthropological approach.
She attended Georgia State University where she studied film, anthropology and broadcast journalism and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and a second Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications. She is also an alumna of the Medill School of Journalism where she received her Master of Science degree in 2010 after studying broadcast journalism.
She has worked with National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Sahara Reporters, Al Jazeera, CNN, the Associated Press, Voice of America and the English language channel of France 24..
Upon the abduction of 276 schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Chibok, Northeastern Nigeria, she was among the first international journalists to visit the town. Her thorough and exclusive coverage of the event won her the Trust Women "Journalist of The Year Award" from the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2014.
One of her editorials published on The Atlantic titled "In the Land of Nigeria's Kidnapped Girls" saw her selected as a finalist of the 2015 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists.
She was the winner of the 2015 African Story Challenge award by the African Media Initiative and the International Center for Journalists for her coverage of the aftermath of a 2010 lead poison outbreak in Nigeria, a project which also won her the Dow Technology & Innovation Reporting Award at the 2016 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards.
In 2016 she was listed in YNaija's "Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women" and won the Future Awards and EbonyLife Prize for Journalism at the eleventh edition of The Future Awards.
CHUDE JIDEONWO (33)-Media Entrepreneur
Chude Jideonwo (born, 16 March 1985) is an award-winning journalist, author, lawyer and media entrepreneur.
He attended at K. Kotun Memorial Primary School, Adebola Baptist High School and the Mayflower School, Ikenne. He studied Law at the University of Lagos, emerging as the Best Student in Land Law. Thereafter, he was called to the Nigerian Bar in November 2007. He concluded a Master's programme in Media and Communication at the Pan-African University, Lagos.
Chude is known as an expert in social media innovation. He is Managing Partner of Red Media Africa, owners of The Future Africa Awards & Summit, Y! Africa, and YNaija.com; and founding Executive Director of The Future Project, which empowers young people across Africa through leadership and enterprise.
He was named by Forbes as one of Africa's 30 best entrepreneurs under 30, Chude Jideonwo's career is centred on using the media as an active tool to galvanise a generation of Africans to action.
His second book, the critically acclaimed 'Are We the Turning Point Generation?' was published by Farafina in May 2014, and captures the evolution of youth-led ideas in managing Africa's 21`leadership and social development challenges.
In 2017 he co-authored the book "How to win Election in Africa" with Debola Williams.
CHINONYE J. CHIDOLUE –Founder, PEREGRINE READS
Chinonye Chidolue (born, December 25) is a graduate of Law. Having outstandingly rounded off her foundation in Law degree programme (diploma) at Holborn College, London (2010) she went on to further her Legal studies at Houdegbe North American University, Benin Republic (2015).
She is the founder and CEO of PEREGRINE READS, an online fast-growing literary platform that promotes creativity and passion in arts by brings together different works of creativity and engaging her audience with motivational life-changing articles, inspiring words of poetry, creative stories and stories on those that have achieved success in their different fields of expertise.
In 2018, she gave more of her support to empowering thousands of children through her NGO, "Child Hero Global Care Foundation" (CHEGAF).
CHIKODILI EMELUMADU- Creative Writer
Chikodili Emelumadu is a Nigerian writer, broadcaster and blogger living in London. She has a BA in English language and literature from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and an MA in Cross Cultural Communications and International Relations from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Apex, Eclectica, Luna Station Quarterly, Omenana, One Throne and Sub-Q magazine. She was a 2015 Shirley Jackson nominee.
Chikodili's work has appeared in One Throne, Omenana, Apex, Eclectica, Luna Station Quarterly and the interactive fiction magazine, Sub-Q. In 2014, Chikodili was nominated for a Shirley Jackson award.
In 2017 she was shortlisted for The Caine Prize for her story 'Bush Baby' published in African Monsters, edited by Margaret Helgadottir and Jo Thomas (Fox Spirit Books, UK. 2015).
CHIOMA IWUNZE-IBIAM- Literary Blogger
Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam is a gifted writer, author and blogger. Her blog "creativewritingnews.net" is worth a visit for any writer, not just those interested in learning how to write. Though studied Mathematics and Computer Science did not deter her from doing what she loves doing best.
Her first novel Finding Love Again was published by Ankara Press. She has published fiction, non-fiction and poetry in several newspapers and literary journals including MTLS, Long Story Short, Fiction 365, Saraba, Sentinel and Tribes Write.
She was the semi-finalist at the 2014 ACT award, Cecilia Unaegbu flash fiction contest and farafinablog's Voice of America flash fiction contest. She also won the 2016 Nigerian Writers Awards Literary Blog of the Year.
Her blog "creativewritingnews.net" has been and still one of the leading writers blog in Africa in term of creative contents.
CHIOMA NGAIKEDI (29)- Author, Sahara's Claws
Chioma Ngaikedi, (born, 16 December 1989) is a blogger at www.chiomangaikedi.com, a story teller, poet, motivational speaker, brand promoter, event manager, filmmaker and author of Sahara's Claws, a collection of 50 great short stories. A graduate of Foreign Languages at the University of Benin; She is passionate about life and living with purpose.
She uses her blog as well as other social media platforms, especially her Facebook page to connect and motivate writers and also speak about issues that are usually unspoken; create inspiration that will build a new generation of literary icons as well as stir people to live to their full potential.
Chioma has a lovely home on the cyber space called the "Chi-family", it's an online family of positive and purpose driven people.
In 2018, Chioma doubled her effort in empowering young writers also supporting the less privileged.
CHINELO ONWUALU- Editor/Co-founder, Omenana
Chinelo Onwualu is an editor and co-founder of Omenana, a magazine of African speculative fiction, a graduate of the 2014 Clarion West Writers Workshop, which she attended as the recipient of the Octavia E. Butler Scholarship.
Her writing has appeared in several places, including Strange Horizons, The Kalahari Review, Saraba, Brittle Paper, Jungle Jim, Ideomancer, and the anthologies AfroSF: African Science Fiction by African Writers, Mothership: Tales of Afrofuturism and Beyond, Terra Incognita: New Short Speculative Stories from Africa, and Imagine Africa 500.
Chinelo has also been longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards and the Short Story Day Africa Award.
CHINELO OKPARANTA- Author, Happiness Like Water
Chinelo Okparanta is a Nigerian-American writer, born and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria; she was educated at Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
Chinelo has published short stories in publications including Granta, The New Yorker, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, TriQuarterly, , Conjunctions, Subtropics and The Coffin Factory, and has held fellowships or visiting professorships at The University of Iowa, Colgate University and Purdue University.
Her debut short story collection, Happiness, Like Water (Granta Books), was longlisted for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, shortlisted for the 2014 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, and won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. She has been nominated for a United States Artists Fellowship and was a finalist for the 2014 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in Literature. Other honors include the 2013 Society of Midland Authors Award (finalist), the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing (finalist), and a 2014 O. Henry Award.
Under the Udala Trees also won the 2016 Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award in Fiction and was a 2017 Amelia Bloomer Project Selection of the American Library Association.
In 2017, Okparanta won the Publishing Triangle's 2016 inaugural Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award. Under the Udala Trees was also shortlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award.
DAMI AJAYI (32)- Author, Clinical Blues/A woman body is a country
Dami (born, 1986) is a medical doctor, writer and co-publisher of Saraba Magazine, Daybreak, his electronic chapbook, became cultist classic and his first volume of poems Clinical Blues (WriteHouse Collective, 2014) and was nominated for the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize (2015) and shortlisted for the Medlita Hume Prize.
His books, music and film reviews have appeared in The Guardian, Wawa Review of Books and Olisa TV.
Dami is a senior register at Yaba Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Lagos State, Nigeria. In 2017 he released a new book titled "A woman's body is a country.
In 2018 he was nominated for the Future Awards in the Public Service category.
DIKE CHUKWUMERIJE (39)- Poet
Dike, (born on July 20, 1979) an author of eight books is a dynamic spoken word poet known for his creativity in promoting poetry. He promotes poetry with his open Mic events in Abuja Nigeria. He is a master poet with books, and poetry video to his credit. He also writes essays well and runs two blogs.
He runs a poetry theatre production, MADE IN NIGERIA, which has toured many cities in the country. He also hosts weekly Open Mic performances which include a mix of acts from readings of short stories by their authors to musical performances, poetry and spoken word acts. Chukwumerije is regarded as one of Nigeria's most prolific Performance Poet with the release of three Performance Poetry videos.
He was a pioneer of 100 Thousand Poets For Change, Abuja and one of the master lyricists in Nigeria.
ECHEZONACHUKWU CHINEDU NDUKA (29)–Nigerianpoet/short story writer
Echezonachukwu Chinedu Nduka (born, 19 July 1989) is a Nigerian poet, short story writer and musicologist; born in Onitsha, Nigeria.
He attended Bishop Crowther Seminary, Awka. In 2006, he gained admission into the University of Nigeria to study Music, and graduated magna cum laude in 2010. Thereafter, he proceeded to Kingston University London, United Kingdom where he studied as a postgraduate student in Music with interests in Popular music, Music semiology, Songwriting and Comparative musicology.
He worked in Nigeria as a Lecturer in Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education (now Alvan Ikoku University of Education), Owerri. In addition, he has worked as a freelance writer and columnist for The Nigerian Telegraph. He is one of the contributors on African Hadithi, a Pan-African online media platform where his essays and poetry have been published.
Nduka's poem Etude won the Bronze Prize at the 4th Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast. In 2016, he emerged Winner of the 6th Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast Prize for his poem Listen.
His poems have been published in reputable literary journals and anthologies including Sentinel Nigeria, Sentinel Literary Quarterly, Kalahari Review, The Bombay Review, Bakwa, African Writer, Jalada, Saraba Magazine, Praxis Magazine for Arts and Literature, Brittle Paper, Tuck Magazine, The New Black Magazine.
EFE PAUL (39) – Poet
Efe Paul Azino (born, 1979) is great writer and one of Nigeria's leading performance poets. He has been a leading performer at many of Nigeria's foremost performance poetry venues, including Ake Arts and Book Festival, British Council Lagos, Taruwa Festival of Performing Arts, The Future Awards, Bogobiri, Lagos Book and Arts Festival and several others. For Broken Men Who Cross Often is his first poetry collection
Apart from featuring in other events such as Ake Books & Arts Festival, WordUp, radio shows and magazines, he runs his own event called 'Unchained Voices'.
Big Brother Naija "Double Wahala".
In 2017 Azino was named as one of "the most powerful young persons under the age of 40 who are getting things done in the culture space" by YNaija magazine.
EKETI EDIMA ETTE – Creative writer
Eketi EDIMA Ette (born, May 16) is a lawyer, teacher, freelance editor, ghostwriter and the CEO Kedima Consults. Her works are published in The Songhai 12, AfricanHadithi. , bride2mum.com and various blogs and magazines.
Her online creative writing course which she launched in 2014 has since then been very helpful to many young writers.
She is the author of Chinda Ella and was one of the top selling books on Okada.
ELNATHAN JOHN (36)- Novelist
Elnathan John was born in Kaduna, in north-west Nigeria, in 1982.He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a law degree in 2007.
His short story "Bayan Layi", published in Per Contra, was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2013. He was shortlisted again in 2015 for his short story "Flying".
Elnathan John is a Civitella Ranieri Fellow (2015). He writes a weekly satirical column for the Sunday Trust newspaper.
Some of his works includes In A Time of Boko Haram" in The Chronic (March 2015), "Running" in The Gonjon Pin and other stories (New Internationalist, 2014); (Nigeria: Cassava Republic Press, 2014, "Flying", in Per Contra (Issue 33, Fall 2014), "A Memory This Size" in A Memory This Size and other stories. (New Internationalist, 2013).
His first novel "Born on a Tuesday" was published by Cassava Republic Press in 2015 and Grove Atlantic in 2016.
EMMANUEL IDUMA (29)- Creative Writer
Emmanuel Iduma is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. Born and raised in Nigeria, his essays and stories appear frequently in journals, magazines, artists' books, and exhibition catalogues. He is the author of The Sound of Things to Come (first published as Farad in Nigeria), and received a 2017 Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation grant in arts writing. He holds an MFA in Art Criticism and Writing from the School of Visual Arts, New York, where he now teaches.
In 2017, he was associate curator of the Nigerian pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He is editor of Saraba Magazine, which he co-founded.
In 2018 Iduma released the book titled "A Stranger Pose" published by Cassava Republic Press.
ESTHER IJEWERE- KALEJAIYE (34)- Author, Breaking the Silence
Esther Ijewere Kalejaiye, born on 14th April 1984 is an author (breaking the silence), enterprising social activist and youth advocate; the Executive Director Rubies ink Initiative and coordinator of Walk against Rape (WAR) in Nigeria an advocacy initiative created to lend a voice to victims of rape and demand justice for the perpetrator.
The sociology graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University is a columnist in the Guardian Newspaper-Women of Rubies, a capacity building and inspirational platform for celebrating women of substance in the society, to educate, inform, inspire and motivate Nigerian and African women to be the best they can be.
Esther sits on the board of The African Development Imperative (TADI) and also, a fellow with Hillary Clinton's founded Vital Voices Global Leadership. She is the recipient of several awards which includes the 'Wise Woman in Media Award' and also recognized as one of the '100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria' by Leading Ladies Africa.
In 2018 she launched "Men who inspire" to celebrate bravery in Men.
FISAYO SOYOMBO (33)- Journalist
Fisayo Soyombo studied Animal Science at the University of Ibadan; he kicked off his professional media career in 2004, with THE GUARDIAN. He was the pioneer editor of Nigerian online newspaper The Cable.
His burgeoning writing craft has won him several national writing contests; and has earned him more than 15 youth journalism-related awards.
In 2009, he was long-listed as one of the 200 winners of the World Bank Annual Global Youth Essay Contest, which featured 2, 469 entries. In 2010, he repeated the feat in a contest participated in by 2009 global applicants. In December 2011, an article he had written as a National Youth Service Corps member fetched him a nomination for the Investigative Reporter category of the Nigeria Media Merit Awards 2011.
He has had two years of transcontinental professional journalism career, spanning online spells with South African Network Africa; Minnesota, United States-based African Outlook; California, US-based THEWILL; and pan-African online business agency, VENTURES AFRICA.
Soyombo was named the winner of the Newcomer of the Year category of the 2016 Free Press awards, which held in The Hague, Netherlands.
FUNKE OSAE-BROWN- Journalist
Funke Osae-Brown is former Deputy Editor with Business Day, with over ten years of experience as a media practitioner. A Master's Degree holder from the University of Lagos, she also attended the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS), as well as other professional trainings in Ghana, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and others.
She has received numerous awards and nominations such as the Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA) (nominee, 3 categories), finalist at the Diageo Business Reporting Awards in the Best Business News category, recipient of Best Arts and Culture Reporting 2013 at the Annual Mother Drum Golden Awards, Future Awards Journalist of the Year, 2009.
Funke's new found interest is in the emerging Nigerian luxury market with her online magazine, The Luxury Reporter (TLR), www.luxuryreporter.com.ng.
37. GBENGA ADESINA (27)- Poet/Essayist
Gbenga Adesina (July 22, 1991) is a Nigerian born poet and essayist. He studied at Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) Ondo State, Nigeria
His poetry, essays and reviews have been featured or are forthcoming in Harriet's Blog for the Poetry Foundation and in Jalada, Premium Times, Open Society Foundation blog, Brittle Paper, Africanwriter.com, One Throne, Vinyl, Prairie Schooner, Soar Africa (OSIWA anthology of new African poems) and others.
In 2015, he was an Open Society Foundation Resident Poet on Goree Island, off the coast of Senegal. His first chapbook, Painter of Water, will be published by APBF in the spring of 2016.
He jointly won the 2016 Brunel African Poetry Prize. His poem, "How To Paint A Girl" was selected by Mathew Zapruder for its "clarity of observation and empathetic insight into the suffering of another" for the New York Times.
Gbenga was a 2016 Norman Mailer Poetry Fellow at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. He has received scholarships and residencies from Fine Arts Work Centre, Provincetown and The Open Society Foundation in Goree Island, off the coast of Senegal.
His poetry manuscript, Holy Bodies was a finalist for the 2017 Sillerman First Book Prize.
GIMBA KAKANDA- Socio-political essayist
Gimba Kakanda is a socio-political essayist, the young author of the critically acclaim poetry collection, Safari Pants (Kraftgriot, 2010). He is endorsed as 'the new Nigerian poet to watch' by notable Nigerian literary critics, scholars, writers and journalists in commending the collection praised for its 'verve, lyrical energy, and, most importantly, terrific imagery'.
His individual poems, essays, polemics and critiques of contemporary Nigerian writings have sparkled on various print and electronic media, including: Fireflies (2009) , Voices from the Sun (2010) (poetry anthology): Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust, Leadership, The Guardian, New Nigerian, Tribune, Vanguard (Newspapers): Half Tribe, Switched on Naija, Sentinel Nigeria (e-magazine), Premium Times, Sahara Reporters. e.t.c.
GRACIANO ENWEREM – Poet
Graciano Enwerem is a Spoken Word poet, writer and teacher. He is a graduate of English and Literary Studies from Imo State University. He's the winner of War Of Words 3, YouPoetry Slam, 9 times winner of Sea View's Poetry Challenge, Winner Of War Of Words Online slam 1 and co-founder of Figures Of Speech {F.O.S.}, the first online creative group on Whatsapp.
He's been proffered with so many awards which include the SPIC Most Outstanding Achiever Of The Year, 2014, IFA's Atonisona Of Poetry Award, 2015 and was also voted the number 1 Poet at the EGC's annual Top 50 Contemporary Poets who Rock Nigeria in 2015.
He promotes poetry at Seaview Poetry club and Rhythm FM Port-Harcourt and he teaches poetry on a Whatsapp group.
In 2018 he released the book titled Spoken word poetry 101.
HANNAH OJO (30) – Award winning Journalist
Hannah Ojo is a tech-savvy journalist with The Nation Newspaper, Lagos, Nigeria. An alumnus of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; She was named Winner of the Etisalat Prize for Most Innovative Reporter at the Nigeria Media Merits Awards in December 2016. She also emerged winner of the Fisheries and Animal Resources Category in the 2016 Zimeo Awards organised by the Africa Media Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2015, after finding the opportunity on IJNet, she got her first taste of international reporting as a Thomson Reuters UN/SDG Fellow, traveling to New York to cover the 70th assembly of the United Nations.
A 2017 impactAfrica grantee, she was a finalist for the Best Reporting Entry, Rotary Humanitarian Reporting she also participated in a 2017 News Corp Fellowship hosted by the Times of London and the Wall Street Journal Bureaus in London.
She emerged as one of the nine winners of the investigative data journalism projects that will tackle African development challenges.
Hannah reported from the 2018 UN General Assembly as a Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellow.
HELEN OYEYEMI (34)- Novelist
Helen Olajumoke Oyeyemi is a British novelist born on the 10th of December 1984. She wrote her first novel, The Icarus Girl published in 2005, while still at school studying for her A-levels at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.
In 2007 Bloomsbury published Oyeyemi's second novel, The Opposite House, which is inspired by Cuban mythology. Her third novel, White is for Witching, described as having "roots in Henry James and Edgar Allan Poe", was published by Picador in May 2009. It was a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award finalist and won a 2010 Somerset Maugham Award. A fourth novel, Mr Fox, was published by Picador in June 2011, and a fifth, Boy, Snow, Bird, in 2014. Boy, Snow, Bird was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2014.
In 2009 Oyeyemi was recognized as one of the women on Venus Zine's "25 under 25" list. Oyeyemi was a judge on the Booktrust Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for 2015, and is serving as a judge for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
She is the author "What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours". HELEN OYEYEMI
IBITOLA OJOYE-ADEBAYO (40) – Founder, Lizzy Adams Initiative
Ibitola Ojoye-Adebayo is a graduate of the University of Portsmouth with a BSc in Pharmacology.
In 2013 she completed her first Novella "Acceptance," a powerful testimony of love, Loss and Betrayal. "Into the darkness" is her sequel to "Acceptance." When Ibitola isn't raising three children with her husband, she continues to inspire and create in various online communities through her writing and research.
She won Diva author of the year 2015 – Divas of colour awards 2015, nominated for author of the year 2015, women4africa awards 2015, nominated for Afro -Asia awards 2015 in the category Online Magazine/Blog, nominated for author of the year 2015 -Creativity awards 2015, and won the Diaspora writer of the year-Nigerian Writers Awards 2016.
In November 2016 she released her second novel "My Name is Lizzy Adams" and also launched her agency "Lizzy Adams Initiative".
In 2018 she was part of several projects and events with a focus to support the girl child.
IJEOMA UMEBINYUO- Poet
Ijeoma Umebinyuo is a Nigerian poet who has been lauded as one of Sub-Saharan Africa's greatest contemporary poets. She is widely popular and active on social media where she shares a lot of her recent work.
Her short stories and poems have appeared in various publications, including The Stockholm Review of Literature, The Wildness, The Rising Phoenix Review and The MacGuffin, TEDx talk on 'Dismantling The Culture of Silence'. She has given public readings at both Columbia and Colgate University.
In 2016, Ijeoma was named one of the top contemporary poets emerging from Africa by Writivism.
Her poem "Diaspora Blues" is a part of Dr. Rosalba Icaza's contribution to Routledge Handbook of Postcolonial Politics.
In 2017, Ijeoma was invited to speak at The Cooper Union, her talk Dismantling the Culture of Silence seeks to challenge the culture where silence is seen as a virtue in marginalized communities and how such affect women. Dismantling the Culture of Silence has been used by some teachers to teach students in high school the importance of using their voices.
Her poem The Delicate Acts of Survival from her poetry collection Questions for Ada has been selected to be translated into Spanish.
IRENOSEN OKOJIE (35)- Author, Butterfly Fish
Irenosen Okojie (February 4, 1983) is a Nigerian British writer. Her debut novel, Butterfly Fish, won a Betty Trask Award. She was a selected writer by Theatre Royal Stratford East and Writer in Residence for TEDx East End. In 2014, she was the Prize Advocate for the SI Leeds Literary Prize. She also won the Betty Trask award 2016.
Her short stories have been published internationally, including in Salt's Best British Short Stories 2017, Kwani? and The Year's Best Weird Fiction. She was presented by Ben Okri at the London Short Story Festival as a dynamic writing talent to watch, and featured in ES Magazine as one of London's exciting new authors.
Her short-story collection Speak Gigantular was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Saboteur Awards, and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. Irenosen was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.
IFESINACHI O. OKPAGU– Author/Screen Writer
Ifesinachi .O. Okpagu serves as the chief custodian of the Lexiton brand with intellectual property in the media and entertainment industry. Her first book, a novella, was published when she was fourteen and was adopted as a secondary school recommended text in Delta and Ebonyi states.
She was educated at Queens College, Lagos, and at the University of Benin where she obtained a BA in Fine and Applied Arts. Ifesinachi also holds a Masters degree from the Pan-African University where she graduated top of her class. She has written several stories, some of which have been published in Sentinel Nigeria, the African Roar Anthology and Saraba Magazine.
Ifesinachi is the author of the domestication of Munachi.
IQUO DIANABASI (38)- Poet/Author
Iquo DianaAbasi Eke is a household name in the spoken word poetry circles. She writes prose, poetry and scripts for radio and screen. She often performs her poems with a touch of culture-rich Ibibio folklore.
Her first collection of poems, "Symphony of Becoming", was shortlisted for the NLNG Nigeria prize for literature, and the ANA poetry prize; both in 2013.
Iquo has graced poetry platforms such as Lagos International Poetry Festival, Ake Arts and Book Festival, Wole Soyinka at 80, etc.
Her writings have also appeared in Kalahari review, Saraba magazine, ANA Review and Olisa.tv. An avid student of human nature, Iquo's writing explores socially cognizant themes, pain, love, womanhood and indeed the trials of the griots of this age.
In 2018, she was longlisted along with 8 other African poets for the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature.
JAPHETH OMOJUWA (34) – Journalist/Activist
Japheth Omojuwa, (born, 3 October 1984) is a socio-economic and political writer/commentator, environmental consultant, social media expert and mentor to many Nigerian youth.
He was a delegate at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+ 20 in Brazil. The leadership of the African Union invited him in 2014 to be part of the Africa Re-imagination Creative Hub (ARCH) to fashion an agenda for Africa 2063 project. He participated as a panelist at a side event during the 2013 United Nations General Assembly in New York where he spoke on the need to use data and facts as tools in activism and policy making.
His pieces have appeared on several online and print mediums including Metropole Magazine, Sahara Reporters, BBC, The Financial Times, This Day and Naij.com.
JENNIFER EHIDIAMEN (34)– Journalist/Poet
Jennifer is a young talented writer, winner of the inaugural Innovative Young Journalist Award, Tech Savvy Journalist, Development Communicator, and poet.
She has worked and consulted for several organizations locally and internationally, including One World Youth Project, Ventures Africa, Global Press Institute, Voice of America and UNAIDS.
In 2014, she launched RuralReporters.com an alternative media for student journalists and organizations to share solution-focused stories about their communities, thus promoting citizen journalism.
She has an undergraduate degree in mass communication from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, and M.A. in business and economics from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York (2017).
JOEY AKAN (27) Entertainment Writer.
Joey Akan is undoubtably one of the best entertainment writer to have come out of Nigeria. The young and energetic art lover is currently a columnist at the Guardian Nigeria, he has worked for a number of media houses like, OkayAfrica, Pulse.ng where he was an entertainment (music) editor, and also being featured on CNN Africa.
He has a very good eye for stories and true to himself when creating his contents. In 2016 he won the Entertainment Writer of the year at the Nigerian Writers Awards.
Joey's mission like many top journalists is to preserve the history of Africa's current spark, with interest being mostly music.
JOWHOR ILE (38)- Author, After Many Day
Jowhor Ile was born in 1980 and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. His fiction has appeared in McSweeney's Quarterly and Litro Magazine. His debut novel 'And After Many Days' was published in February 2016.
In 2017 Jowhor was awarded the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature for his debut novel "And After Many Days", making him the first Nigerian to take the prize in its four years.
JULIE IROMUANYA- Author, MR. AND MRS. DOCTOR
Julie Iromuanya was born and raised in the American Midwest. She is the author of MR. AND MRS. DOCTOR (Coffee House Press, 2015), a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature, the 2015 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for Debut Fiction, and a San Francisco Chronicle "Best of 2015,"
Iromuanya earned her B.A. at the University of Central Florida and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is an assistant professor of English and Africana literature. She teaches in the University of Arizona creative writing MFA program.
She has served on the faculty at the University of Dayton, the University of Tampa, Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago), and she taught for seven summers at the Johns Hopkins University-Center for Talented Youth, both in the U.S. and in Hong Kong.
In 2016 she was Shortlisted for the Morland Writing Scholarships.
JUMOKE VERISSIMO (39)- Poet
Jumoke Verissimo is a quintessential Nigerian poet and writer born in Lagos on the 26th of December 1979. She has a Master's degree in African studies (performance) from the University of Ibadan and a Bachelor's degree in English literature from the Lagos State University. She has worked as an editor, sub-editor, copywriter and a freelance journalist for major newspapers such as Guardian and NEXT.
Her first poetry book, 'I Am Memory, was published by DADA Books in 2008 and has won some literary awards in Nigeria. Some of her accolades include, Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry 2009, Anthony Agbo Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry, 2009, Honourable Mention Association of Nigeria (Poetry) 2009, Recipient, Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship, 2012, Mother Drum Golden Award for Excellence, for poetry 2012.
In 2015 her second poetry book The Birth of Illusion was published by FULLPOINT, Nigeria.
KENECHI UZOR- Creative writer/Professional Editor
Kenechi is a Nigerian writer and professional editor. He studied Philosophy at the University of Benin, Edo State. He is an Editor at Kachifo Limited, Farafina Trust and Web Editor at Saraba Magazine.
He is an award-winning writer whose works has appeared in major online publications in Nigeria and abroad. He is the Founding Editor of write4all.com, a leading writing and editing firm in Nigeria. Check out more of his writing atkenechiuzor.com.
Kenechi is the author of Unholy Bible: Lucifer's Version and Child Story.
KEMI BUSARI (29)- Journalist
Kemi Busari, a top-class graduate of political science from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife is an investigative journalist, the National Assembly (Senate) correspondent with premium times.
He has won several awards including the Promasidor Quill award in 2016, Nigerian Writers Award in 2017 feature writer of the year, runner up of Wole Soyinka Award for investigative journalism.
In October 2018, he was a runner up for the anti-corruption category of the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA). He also won the Business and Economy category of the Pwc Media Excellence Awards, he won the award with his story which unravelled corruption in the Nigeria immigration passport offices.
The year 2018 has indeed been a wonderful year for him, he also emerged winner of the 2018 Newcomer of the Year – Hans Verploeg Award and nominated for the Future Awards Africa in the journalism category.
KỌ́LÁ TÚBỌ̀SÚN (37)- Nigerian linguist
Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún (born, 22 September 1981) is a Nigerian linguist, scholar and cultural activist whose work and influence span the fields of education, technology, literature, journalism, and linguistics. He is a Fulbright Fellow (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 2009) and recipient of the Premio Ostana "Special Prize" for Mother Tongue Literature 2016.
He was born in Ibadan, Nigeria and holds a Masters in Linguistics from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2012) and a BA from the University of Ibadan (2005). He also studied briefly at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya, in April 2005, as part of a MacArthur Foundation-sponsored Socio-Cultural Exchange Programme.
He is known for his work in language advocacy. In 2012, he started an online campaign to demand that Twitter include Yoruba (his mother tongue) in the list of languages into which Twitter was being translated: 1 March 2012 was declared "the Tweet Yoruba Day" to call attention to the matter.
Tubosun founded the "Yorùbá Name Project" at YorubaName.com in March 2015. He is also involved in setting up a version for Igbo language at IgboName.com. On 8 August 2015, the project released a free Yorùbá Keyboard software for Mac and Windows to allow its users type in Yorùbá language on the internet with an update to cater for Igbo in July 2016.
In March 2017, the project began fundraising for research into creating a Text to Speech application for Yoruba.
In 2018 he was named one of the winners of the Miles Morland Writing Scholarship
KIRU TAYE- Romance Writer
Kiru Taye is an award winning British-Nigerian Erotica Writer, the author of the Men of Valor series, the Essien series, the Passion Shields series, the Challenge series, the Bound series and the upcoming Black Warriors series.
She writes sensual and passionate multicultural and interracial romance stories set in Africa or the UK. When she's not writing you can find her either immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family. She currently lives in the South of England.
Kiru is a founding member of Romance Writers of West Africa. In 2011, her debut romance novella, His Treasure, won the Book of the Year at the Love Romances Café Awards. She is the 2015 Romance Writer of the Year at the Nigerian Writers Awards.
In 2017, she was listed as the 3rd bestselling Nigerian authors by Okadabooks. Same year, she won the UFERE Awards as the 2017 Author of the year.
In June 2018, her books were the subject of an exploratory discussion on the genesis and acceptance of pleasurable sex among Africans, and the role of novelist in documenting it. Excerpts from Taye's book, His treasure was investigated in the publication.
Some of her books includes, An Engagement challenge (2012), Keeping Secrets (2014), Making Scandal (2014), Riding Rebel (2015), Bound to Fate (2016), Bound to Ransom (2016), Bound to Passion (2016), Bound to Favor (2018).
KUKOGHO IRUESIRI SAMSON (34)- Poet/Novelist/Publisher
KUKOGHO IRUESIRI SAMSON is the Founder/CEO of popular educational and publishing firm, Words Rhymes & Rhythm Publishers Ltd (WRR). He is an award-winning author of 4 books; WHAT CAN WORDS DO (2013), I SAID THESE WORDS (2015), WORDS OF EROS (2017) & WE WHO SOWED HURT & BEADED PAINS (2017), multimedia journalist and youth mentor, known for his work with young Nigerian writers and the promotion of Nigerian writing.
Kukogho has won several accolades for his writing, including the Orange Crush 1st Prize for Poetry in 2012, the Nigerian Writers Award (NWA) for 'Best Poet in Nigeria 2015', the 2017 ANA Prize for Fiction (First-Runner-Up), for DEVIL'S PAWN. He was also listed among the Nigerian Writers Awards' list of 100 Most Influential Nigerian Writers Under 40 in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, DEVIL'S PAWN won the 2018 Dusty Manuscript Prize and is set for release by FARAFINA PUBLISHERS in the first quarter of 2019. He lives in Abuja.
LESLEY NNEKA ARIMAH (Author, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky)
Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer, born and grew up in the UK and Nigeria. A winner of the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa. She has twice been shortlisted for the Caine Prize. She has been described as "a skillful storyteller who can render entire relationships with just a few lines of dialogue" and "a new voice with certain staying power."
Her work has been published in The New Yorker and Granta. In 2015, her story "Light" won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa. In 2016 and 2017, she was shortlisted for the Caine Prize. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Per Contra, The New Yorker, and other publications.
In April 2017, her debut collection of short stories was published by Riverhead Books and Tinder Press (UK). It is titled What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky. It was republished in Nigeria, by Farafina Books, in November 2017. It won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction , the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction and the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. Named one of the most anticipated books of 2017 by Time Magazine, Elle, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Millions, Nylon, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
In September 2017, she was named as one of the fiction writers honored by the National Book Foundation, called "Five Under 35".
In January 2018, her book was shortlisted for the 9mobile Prize for Literature.
LINDA IKEJI (38) -Blogger
Linda Ikeji born (born, 19 September 1980) is one of Nigeria's most successful blogger. She publishes news and stories, including celebrity gossips and political news that you wouldn't come across on any other blogs. Her blogging feat is unprecedented and her blog has been a regular 'online home' for most Nigerians.
Linda runs a non-profit project themed "I'd rather be self-made; she revealed that through the project, she assists young girls aged 16–25 who have great business ideas and are willing to venture into entrepreneurship. She gave out the sum of NGN10, 000,000 in the Phase 1 of the project.
On August 8, 2018, Linda Ikeji was among eminent personalities drawn from different countries across multiple disciplines who were conferred with Honorary Doctorate Degree from Trinity International University in Georgia for her outstanding job in Business and Media in Africa. Others conferred includes Steve Egboro, Nigerian filmmaker and event manager, Chairman Daily Times Newspaper, Dr. Fidelis Anosike, Dr. Obeahon Ohiwerei, GMD/ CEO of Keystone Bank Limited, renowned lawyer Mike Ozekhome and few others.
MAC KELLY OBISON- Crime Fiction Writer
Mac Kelly Obison is a multiple award-winning Nigerian writer who specializes in murder mysteries and crime thrillers, author of five books; The Holy Pagan, Murder on the Wedding Eve, The Fugitive's Legacy Mystery of the double Homicide and The Unholy Patrons.
Mac Kelly writing was inspired at a very young age when his brother introduced him to books; he grew up falling in love with murder mysteries and crime fiction. The creator of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) was a big source of inspiration to him, and James Hadley Chase, a British author.
There is one good thing that makes him stand out; he delved into something different which is crime fiction. Most African authors, typically write novels based on African tradition and contemporary rural and urban occurrences, but he tries to drift away from those regular genres and bring something that happens in Africa from day to day but you rarely see them in books.
Mac Kelly is the winner of the 2017 Nigerian Writers Awards- Diaspora Writer of the Year.
In 2018 he released the book titled The Patriotic Fugitives.
MARY ONONOKPONO – Creative Writer
Mary Ononokpono is an award-winning Nigerian-British writer and artist. Winner of the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books, Mary is a two-time shortlistee of the Morland Writing Scholarship. She has a background in fashion, arts and design spanning well over a decade.
In July 2016 she graduated with a BA in History from SOAS, University of London. Some Of Her Awards and Nominations Includes Morland Writing Scholarship 2016 (Shortlist), Short Story Day Africa Prize 2016 (Longlist), Farafina Trust Workshop 2016 (Shortlist), Morland Writing Scholarship 2015 (Shortlist), Short Story Day Africa Prize 2015 (Longlist), Golden Baobab Early Chapter Book Prize 2014 (Winner), Commonword Diversity for Children Prize 2014 (Longlist), Short Story Day Africa Prize 2014 (Longlist), Fab Magazine Writer of the Year Award 2011 (Nominee).
She is a winner of the Golden Baobab Prize and two-time finalist for the Miles Morland Scholarship. She was shortlisted for the 2018 Miles Morland Writing Scholarship.
MERCY ABANG (34)- Journalist
Mercy Banku Abang (born, 1984) is an international award-winning journalist known for her self-funded journalism focused on vulnerable population. She is Nigeria's most syndicated storyteller.
She has gone on several election observation missions on the West African sub-continent. She has an interview series, "Conversations with Abang Mercy", which has had guests such as Reno Omokri, Dele Momodu and Chude Jideonwo.
She played an importantly role in reporting the Ghanaian elections – covering various polling stations all over the country and reporting about the role of Ghanaian bloggers during the recently concluded elections. She has also reported extensively about the activities of fulani herdsmen in Northern Nigeria, visiting communities in Niger state – bringing attention of the Nigerian people to the under -reported stories in Gbagyi communities.
Mercy worked as a media assistant to then Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, during his presidential campaigns on the platform of the Donald Duke Campaign Organization.
In 2014, she was invited to the African Union's Third Annual High Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance in Africa; Trends, Challenges and Prospects that held at Nairobi's Safari Park – a meet with participants from over 40 African countries.
In March 2015, Mercy alongside international journalist, Kadaria Ahmed of the BBC, hosted Nigerians to a 2-hour live television town hall meeting with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega in Abuja.
As a young African entrepreneur, she works with young people and continues to inspire her generation by creating jobs opportunities and works as a social media specialist and adviser.
She also assisted in the LightupNigeria advocacy project founded by Amara Nwankpa and pushed for the release of funds pledged by President Goodluck Jonathan towards rehabilitation of victims of the 2013 lead-poisoning in gold mines in Zamfara.
In 2017, the firebrand Journalists, Mercy, interviewed Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state, emphasis was on traditional birth attendants (TBAs)/Agbebi and optimizing their services with the Abiye programme spread across the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) as well as the establishment of two dedicated Mother and Child Hospitals to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by 84.9 per cent that is from 745 per 1000,000 live births in 2009 to 112 per 100,000 live births in 2016.
Mercy is the 2017 United Nations (Dag Hammarksjold) Journalism Fellow, in 2017, she was named the woman of the Year in Journalism
NNEDIMMA JANE KALU -Scriptwriter /short story writer
Nnedinma Jane Kalu, is a Nigerian whose heart is set on telling the stories of people who can't. She was a participant in the 2014 Writivism Workshop Programme and an Alumna of the 2014 Farafina Creative Writing workshop.
She was also invited to the 2015 Writivism Festival in Kampala, Uganda.
NONYELUM EKWEMPU- Creative Writer
​Nonyelum is a Nigerian writer and visual artist. She grew up in the bustling city of Lagos and in small villages in southwestern and southeastern Nigeria.
Her art is inspired by Jazz, the African immigrant experience, and the colors and vibrancy of various African cultures. Her short story "American Dream" was shortlisted for the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing.
Nonyelum has a bachelor's degree from George Mason University and a master's degree from Georgetown University.
OBINNA CHARLES OKWELUME (37)Author/Journalist
Obinna Charles Okwelume (born, 20 September 1981) is an Author, Journalist and Playwright. He received the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations award in 2001 for his contributions to literary writing and the R E Bradbury Memorial Prize in 2010 for the best thesis in the School of History and Cultures at the University of Birmingham.
His published works include Ogurigwe (2001), Arrow of Vengeance (2002), Three Plays (2002), Babel of Voices (2002), Drumbeats of Black Africa (2004), and Those Who Live in Glass Houses(2016).
Okwelume is a play director; at his leisure he directs music performances and cultural displays.
OBINNA UDENWE (30)- Novelist
Obinna Udenwe was born in Abakaliki, Nigeria in 1988. He is the author of the conspiracy crime thriller, Satans & Shaitans, published in Nigeria by AMAB books and in the UK in 2014 by Jacaranda Books. Satans & Shaitans was a joint winner of the ANA Prose Prize in 2015. The novel addresses very topical issues of terrorism, jihad and politics.
Udenwe is one of the few African writers fearless enough to delve into controversial issues – in 2015 he eroticised the Nigerian church in fiction in a series titled Holy Sex, published to wide online readership and criticism.
In 2014 he was honoured with the award of the 'State Literary Icon' by the GTomisovernment of Ebonyi State. He is one of Africa's most anthologized short fiction writers. His works have appeared in Fiction365, Ehanom Review, Brittle Paper, Tribe, Kalahari Review, Alariwo, African Writer, Outside in Magazine etc.
Obinna is the author of the book "Holy sex".
OKECHUKWU OFILI (37) – Founder, Okada Books
Okechukwu Ofili is a writer, speaker and author, the founder/owner of okadabooks.com, a fast growing and easy-to-use mobile book reading app (MTN 2013 app of the year) for the African market. The full time design engineer with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Houston runs the popular blog ofilispeaks.com.
His blog articles are known for their humor, honesty and creativity in challenging the status-quo of work, life and family.
Ofili is known for his witty illustrations, author of several books including the controversially brilliant "How Intelligence Kills: Our Dangerous Addiction to Respect, Religion, Intelligence and Lots More", How Stupidity Saved My Life and How Laziness Saved My Life.
In 2018, his brand Okada Books partnered with GT bank for the Dusty Manuscript project and Union Bank for the Campus writing challenge.
OLAWALE ASHIMI BRYMO (32)- Poet/Song Writer
Olawale Ashimi (born 9 May 1986) fondly called Brymo is a talented song writer, author and artiste whose music is a mixture of Fuji, R&B, pop and rock. His albums includes Brystone (2007), The Son of a Kapenta (2012), Marchents, Dealers & Slaves (2013), Tabula Rasa (2014) and Klitoris (2016).
His lyrical contents drive unquestionable negative feedbacks as they have received positives reviews from music critics, accolades and loved by many.
In 2018, Brymo authored his first book, titled Oriri's Plight. Oriri's Plight is a multifaceted work of fiction centred around a young Nubian man of the dark ages. Oriri sought the mysteries of the unknowns and prevailed against all adversities to become the king of Uzi kingdom. The digital version was released on all digital book platforms worldwide on 22nd of September, 2018; while the physical version was released in Nigeria on the 4th of October, 2018. The book was published and distributed by Brymo's publishing house, Clockwyce Publishing.
OLUMIDE HOLLOWAY- Poet
Olulu Holloway is writer, poet and poetry promoter popularly known as a "poetivist," who promote and showcase Nigerian talents to the world.
He is said to been said to be the 'AliBaBa' Of Poetry, due to his constant struggle to be a driving force for poetry to be heard, and he has not failed at any time to keep poetry breathing this air called 'life'.
Olulu has also been able to discover close to a hundred poets in Nigeria, through one of his poetry platforms called "War of Words" which is a slam poetry platform, that poets competes 'Head To Head' and gets to win a prizes, and automatically gets to perform at their next WordUp event coming up, after War of Words.
In 2018 he released the book titled "Make Poetry Pay Profit"
OLÚMÌDÉ PÓPÓỌLÁ- Creative Writer
Olúmìdé Pópóọlá is a London-based Nigerian-German writer, speaker and performer.
Pópóọlá was born in Germany to a German mother and a Nigerian father. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing, a MA in Creative Writing and a BSc in Ayurvedic Medicine.
Her publications include essays, poetry, and prose. Her novella This is Not About Sadness was published by Unrast in 2010. She has also written a play, Also by Mail, which was published by Edition Assemblage in 2013. In 2016, she co-authored with Annie Holmes a short collection entitled Breach (Peirene Press).
Her latest novel When We Speak of Nothing was published in July 2017, by Cassava Republic Press.
In 2018 Pópóọlá curated the African Book Festival Berlin, which focused on the themes of transnationalism and migration.
Pópóọlá's novel When We Speak of Nothing (Cassava Republic Press, 2017) tells a story of two young black boys in London whose friendship gets tested over several challenges that include sexual and queer identity, racism, bullying, and an unstable political climate.
OLUWAMAYOWA TIJANI (27)- Journalist
Oluwamayowa Tijani, (born, October 31, 1990) is a staff writer and columnist at TheCable. He studied Food Technology at the University of Ibadan and Print Journalism at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.
Within two years of joining TheCable, he was nominated for the 2016 PwC awards in SME and Tax reporting and ended up as a runner-up in both categories.
His works have been quoted by many national and international media houses, including International Business Times and the BBC.
In 2013, Junior Chamber International (JCI) named him the most outstanding student in campus journalism at the University of Ibadan. In the same year, he won the Nigerian Championship of Public Speaking (NCPS) in Abuja.
In 2015, Tijani was one of the few journalists from across Africa, trained by the United Nations Millennium Campaign as media ambassadors for the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In 2016, 51 Nigerians were selected for studies in the UK via the award, with greater expectations for 2017.
Tijani, who was named alongside over 40 other Nigerians, joins a community of over 1,000 Nigerians who have been so awarded since 1983 when the award was inaugurated across the commonwealth.
Tijani has worked with the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
In 2017 he was awarded the Chevening scholarship to study for a master's degree in the UK. The scholarship, which is awarded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), is valued at over £30,000 for the academic year.
Mayowa was named on the best team of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) cohort three.
ONYEKA NWELUE (30)- Novelist/Cultural Entrepreneur
Onyeka Nwelue, a young Nigerian writer, Onyeka a Nigerian cultural entrepreneur, filmmaker whose life style draws attention to many Nigerian youths; he was born on the 31st of January 1988 to Honourable Sam Nwelue, a politician and Knight of St. Christopher and Lady Catherine Nwelue, a teacher and Lay Reader.
He is best known for his novel  'The Abyssinian Boy', which was published when he was 21 and won the TM Aluko Prize for Fiction, came second at the Ibrahim Tahir Prize for First Book, was nominated for the Future Awards and later won the Prince Claus Ticket Grant.
His second book Hip-Hop is Only for Children is a narrative in verse and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Igbo and Yoruba. It was translated by Venezuelan writer, Alberto Quero and published in Peru. It had its official launch at the Cusco Book Fair in Peru in 2015.
In 2014, he was appointed a Visiting Lecturer of African Studies at the School of Modern Language and Culture, the University of Hong Kong and later an assistant professor of African Studies at Instituto d'Amicis in Puebla, Mexico. In 2016 he won the non-fiction writer of the year at the Nigerian Writers Awards.
In 2017 his documentary detailing the life of Flora Nwapa was nominated in the Best Documentary category at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Same 2017 he launched the Onyeka Nwelue Show and also released a new book titled "The Beginning of Everything Colourful".
OSAGIE-ALONGE- Content Creator/Journalist
Osagie-alonge, popularly known as Osagz is an excellent writer, the Editor-In-Chief at Pulse, a Content creator with experience in all aspects of running an entertainment business, providing entertainment content, knowledge of the Nigerian music industry.
He used to be a hip-hop artist before becoming a journalist and a content creator. His first job he got before delving into journalism was an online uploader which was offered to him by Ayeni Adekunle.
Osagie draws inspiration from a lot of biographies he reads. Book writers like Steve Harris, inspires him, he believes no idea is original, as there is nothing new under the sun.
He also believes securing the future of the youth is the best form of investment.
PEMI AGUDA- Creative Writer
Pemi has a unique style of writing. She writes short stories and flash fiction, her stories have appeared in The Kalahari Review, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Prufrock Magazine, The Wrong Quarterly and the TNC anthology 'These Words Expose Us' among others. "Caterer, Caterer" is shortlisted for the 2015 Writivism Short Story Prize.
She is also a voracious reader; one of those people who is always reading something.
ROMEO ORIOGUN – Poet
Romeo Oriogun (born, June 20), young and vibrant Nigerian writer has proven to be one of the best writers to come out of Africa; a 2017 winner of the Brunel International African Poetry Prize.
His poems have appeared in Brittle Paper, Expound, LAMBDA, Afridiaspora, and African Writer, among others. He is the author of Burnt Men, an electronic chapbook published by Praxis Magazine Online, and was a Fellow of Ebedi International Writers Residency.
His manuscript, My Body Is No Miracle, was a finalist for the 2018 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. His chapbook, The Origin of Butterflies, was published in 2018 by Akashic Books and African Poetry Book Fund.
Romeo was also named a 2018-2019 W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute Fellow at Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African & African American Research.
ROYE OKUPE – COMIC WRITER
PCE Crew group shoot
Roye Okupe is a writer and creator of E.X.O., a superhero story about redemption, set in futuristic 2025 Nigeria.
His 135-page graphic novel was released in August 2015 and has since been featured on CNN, BBC, Forbes, and many other platforms.
He attended George Washington University where he bagged a Bachelor and Master's degree in computer science. He also had an animation course at the Art Institute of Washington. After college, while working as a web developer for International Software Systems in Greenbelt, Md., Okupe was able to put together an eight-minute animated trailer featuring his first superhero creation, Wale Williams, a young, 20-something Nigerian who suits up in high-tech armor to become the African superhero E.X.O. (Endogenic Xoskeletal Ordnance).
Okupe shopped his trailer to distributors, television networks and investors for a year and got nowhere. One movie producer even told him that E.X.O. looked interesting, but he should think about changing the race of the character.
SALLY KENNETH DADZIE (36)- Author/Professional Editor
Sally Kenneth Dadzie (born, 13 October 1982) is an author, blogger and professional editor. She has written several books which include His little black book, Fish brain series, it's another Saturday, Novocaine knights, Fourth Finger. Some of her works can be found on 360nobs, manswersonline.com, Naija stories, Y! Naija.
In October 2016 she broke the record of the highest monthly sales for a single author on Okada books. At the 2017 Nigerian Writers Awards she won the Fiction Writer of the year.
She is also the author of "in the name of papa" and "To tame a virgin", Fish Brain Madhouse, His Little Black Book, It's Another Saturday, No Heart Feelings, Novocaine Knights
SAMIRA HARUNA SANUSI (30)- Author, S is For Survivor
Samira Haruna Sanusi is an author, founder of Samira Sanusi Sickle Cell Foundation; co-founder Water for Sustainable Living Initiative, and a motivational speaker. She studied Business Administration with a minor in Leadership.
The graduate of Business Administration from Katsina State was in 2016 named among 100 Arewa influential people.
She has been writing almost her whole life, she started with journal entries in my diaries, to blogging, and eventually self-publishing. Aside from writing, she run her foundation which was established to spread awareness on Sickle Cell Anemia.
Samira is one of the winners of the Marine Platform Prize for writing in Northern Nigeria. Her book S is For Survivor is an account of her ordeal with sickle cell, which included a seven-year stay in a hospital and undergoing 28 surgeries.
She is one writer who gives hope through her book and speaks for the oppressed. In 2017 she released another book titled "I Wrote This For You".
In 2018, she took her advocacy about sickle cell far and wide to reach out to people all over Nigeria and Africa and hopes in coming years to make more people understand the importance of knowing their genotype in order to have a sickle cell free generation.
In 2018, Samira was nominated for the future awards in the advocacy category.
SAMUEL OLUWAGBEMI AHMADU- Sports Writer
Samuel Oluwagbemi Ahmadu is a Nigerian football correspondent at Goal.com and Sports Editor at SavidNews.com. He is a young sports writer of repute who had independently-sponsored himself to covering two international football competitions. The African Cup of Nations 2013 in South Africa where Nigeria emerged champions and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 in Canada.
He also attended several grassroots and national sports events including Okpepke International Road Race among others. He is currently the Publicity Secretary of Nigeria Sports Writers Association, Kogi State.
Samuel has been doing so well for himself; the year 2017 was a quite busy year for him as he traveled far and wide to cover sporting events and matches.
In 2018, he covered the Africa Women Nations Cup and notable football matches across the world.
SHOOLA OYINDAMOLA (21) – Co-founder, Sprinng Literary Movement
Shoola Oyindamola (born, August 1997) is an author, poet and a blogger. She uses her writing skills with her feminist drive to discuss the gender injustices that need to be fixed. She published her first collection of poems titled "Heartbeat" in New York, USA at the age of 16.
She is the Co-founder and Resource manager of Sprinng Literary Movement; a non-profit organization and initiative by Kanyinsola Olorunnisola that gathers Nigerian writers and works to project the creativity in Nigerian literature.
Oyindamola is fully dedicated to promoting, discovering and curating Nigerian literature. Through this movement, she helps to reach out to many Nigerian writers on social media and with references.
In 2018 she released "The Silence We Eat", a book which calls out to everyone to recognize and use their voice as the powerful weapon it is.
She is also the author of "Heartbeat" and "To Bee a Honey".
SU'EDDIE VERSHIMA AGEMA-Short Story Writer/Poet/Publisher
Su'eddie Vershima Agema, a graduate of English (and Literature) at the Benue State University is an editor and development worker; a team leader of the SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative.
He has a passion for promoting Nigerian literature and has conducted and facilitated different workshops on literature, development and leadership for youths and teenagers. He is the author of BRING OUR CASKET HOME: Tales one shouldn't tell ( a collection of poetry hailed by critics as deep and pleasantly different).
In 2013 he was shortlisted for the PEN Nigeria/Saraba Poetry Award. He was also named as one of the 'Top was longlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Award (2013) and 50 Contemporary Poets who rocked Nigeria in Year 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Su'eddie's collection of short stories, The Bottom of another Tale was shortlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors Prose Prize 2014 and Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories 2015. He won the Mandela Day Short Story Prize 2016 with his short story, 'Washing the Earth'
STELLA DIMOKO KORKUS (38)- Blogger
Stella Dimoko Korkus (born, August 22) is a daring blogger, a Lawyer and journalist. She always find things of interest from celebrity gossips to political news from the unseen corners to share with the world. She is the master of online news aggregation and is known for her aggressive blog posts. Her blog, StellaDimokokorkus.com covers celebrities, politics and every other news. .
Stella is a graduate of English Linguistics from the University of Benin. She moved to Germany in 2004 where she blogs from.
SHINA OLUDARE CHARLES (29)– Sports Writer
Shina Oludare, fondly called the Waka Waka Journalist is a well-travelled sports journalist whose passion and flair in the pen-pushing profession has endeared him to football lovers across the country.
Aside his skill in writing football editorials, this young and tireless journalist has carved a niche for himself boasting of over 30 exclusives in 2015. He has made some many appearances on radio and television to bare his mind on several sporting issue.
Shina is also a contributor at Chimurenga, South Africa. He is a two times sports winner of the Nigerian Writers Awards.
Shina Oludare is currently the Chief Editor Goal.com Nigeria.
80. SYLVA NZE IFEDIGBO (34) -Author, My mind is no longer here
Sylva Nze Ifedigbo (Born on November 11, 1984) is a fiction writer and op-ed columnist. His works of fiction and socio-political commentaries have appeared in many publications both online and in print, including Prick of the Spindle, African Writer, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Saraba, Kalahari Review, Story Time, NEXT, and Pixelhose.999
His novella, Whispering Aloud, was published in 2007 by Spectrum Books. His collection of short stories, The Funeral Did Not End, was published in Nigeria by DADA Books in 2012.
He is the author of My Mind is no longer here.
TAIYE SELASI (39)- Author, Ghana Must Go
Taiye Selasi is a writer and photographer of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin. Born in London, England on the 2nd of November 1979 and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, she is the elder of twin daughters in a family of physicians.
She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in American Studies from Yale, and earned her MPhil in International Relations from Nuffield College, Oxford.
In 2006 Morrison gave Selasi a one-year deadline; she wrote "The Sex Lives of African Girls" to meet it. The story, published by UK literary magazine Granta in 2011, appears in Best American Short Stories 2012. Ghana Must Go was published in 2013 to much critical acclaim.
In 2015, Selasi appeared as a Featured Author, leading a writing seminar, at the annual Iceland Writers Retreat in Reykjavik, Icelan.
THERESA LOLA (24)- Poet
Theresa Lola (born May 6, 1994) is a Nigerian British poet. She was shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize 2017, the London Magazine Poetry Prize 2016 and she won the Hammer and Tongue National Poetry Slam in 2017.
Theresa is an alumna of the Barbican Young Poets programme. She was awarded an Arts Council/British Council International Development Grant to run poetry workshops at the Lagos International Poetry Festival in Nigeria in 2017. Theresa is part of SXWKS creative collective and Octavia Women of Colour collective which is resident at the Southbank Centre in London.
In 2018, she was a joint winner of the Brunel International African Poetry Prize.
TITILOPE SONUGA (33)– Poet
Titilope is an award-winning poet, writer and performer who has graced stages across Nigeria and internationally.
She was the winner of the 2011 Canadian Authors' Association Emerging Writer Award for her first collection of poems, Down To Earth. Her spoken word album "Mother Tongue" was released in 2013 followed by a second collection of poetry, Abscess, in 2014.
She was a speaker at Tedx Edmonton in 2014 and is currently the ambassador for Intel's She Will Connect Program across Nigeria. Titilope was the first poet to appear at a Nigerian presidential inauguration ceremony.
TJ BENSON – Creative Writer
TJ Benson (born, December 3) is a Nigerian writer and creative photographer whose work has appeared in several online journals like Jalada Africa, Expound and Bakwa magazine, and in print magazines like Transition Magazine and more recently Saraba's "Transitions" issue.
His collection of short stories 'We Won't Fade Into Darkness' was released in Nigeria by Parresia Publishers.
His short story "An Abundance of Yellow Paper" was the joint winner of the Amab-HBF contest in 2016. He is the first runner up for the 2016 Short Story Day Africa Prize themed "Migration." He was a writer-in-residence at the Ebedi Writers Residency Nigeria in January 2017 teaching the basics of photography to secondary school children in the community.
TOCHI ONYEBUCHI (31)-Author, Crown of Thunder
Tochi Onyebuchi (born, 4th October 1987) is a Novelist, short story writer, essayist, columnist. He holds a B.A. from Yale, an MFA in Screenwriting from Tisch, a Masters degree in Global Economic Law from L'institut d'études politiques, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. His writing has appeared in Asimov's and Ideomancer, among other places.
His debut novel BEASTS MADE OF NIGHT was published October 2017 by Razorbill, Penguin Random House's young adult imprint. It has since gone on to be named a 2017 Junior Library Guild selection and included on Kirkus's Best Teen Fantasy of 2017.
His second novel Crown of Thunder was published in October, 2018.
TOMI ADESINA (25)-Award winning Playwright
Tomi Adesina (born July 18, 1993) is a creative writer and blogger (tomiadesina.wordpress.com). The suspense in her works, the creativity, the deep research makes one long for more episodes.
Her works include (Hearts and Homes – novella for the Bring back our girls' campaign), Clandestine, Please Break My Heart, Broken Or Not, Beautiful Stranger, All Fun And Games, Dear Future Husband.
In 2015 at the Outstanding Young Achievers Awards (OYAA) she won the Young writer of the year, HOME DIVA Prize, best short film (2015), she was awarded the young writer of the year at the 2015 Nigerian Writers Awards also a winner of the best short film at the Real time film festival 2016.
In 2018 at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) got the award for "achievement in screenplay", same year she was a nominee at the 2018 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMVCA) for the best writer of the year.
TOMI ADEYEMI (25)- Author, Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi (born August 1, 1993) is a Nigerian-American born in the U.S. and currently lives in San Diego, California. Her first book, "Children of Blood and Bone", which has been described as the biggest fantasy debut novel of 2018, made its first appearance atop the New York Times Bestseller's list.
When she released her novel, it landed a seven-figure book-and-movie deal with Hollywood Fox studios for `Children of Blood and Bone,' her first novel, also described as a "Black Lives Matter-inspired fantasy novel," a year ago.
Her novel has been called the biggest fantasy debut novel of 2018, drawing comparisons with everything from Game of Thrones to Black Panther, and has netted a movie deal reported to be worth seven figures.
Adeyemi, who has been referred to as the next J.K. Rowling (writer of the successful Harry Potter series), created an epic tale of an oppressive world that a lot of black people can relate with.
Tomi is a graduate from Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil.
She blogs at tomiadeyemi.com and her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer's Digest.
TOSIN AJIBADE (31)- Convener, New Media Conference
Tosin Ajibade, famously known as Olorisupergal, born on 17th February 1987 is one of Nigeria's most successful blogger who started out as a social media publicist in 2009. She created the OloriSupergal blog in 2010, and in 2012, the blog was turned into a full fledge website.
In 2016 she was rated among the 100 Most Influential Nigerian Women, by Nigerian youth platform, Y-Naija. She won the 2016 The Future Awards Africa Prize for New Media.
She is also the organizer of the New Media Conference that is held annually in Nigeria.
TOYOSI OGUNSEYE- Multi award-winning Journalist
Toyosi Ogunseye is an award-winning writer, journalist, the editor of Nigeria's Sunday punch newspaper.
She was honoured at ICFJ's 30th Anniversary Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on the 10th of November 2014. Her three-part piece on the poisonous steel plant at Fajuyi estate, titled — The rich also cry: A tale of deaths and diseases in a heavily polluted upscale estate; The rich also cry: Killer metals in the blood; and The rich also cry: When investment is a curse — won at least six national and international media awards in 2013 alone.
She is a winner of over 25 media awards including the health category of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Awards in 2011 and 2013. Ogunseye was also shortlisted to participate in President Barack Obama's Young African Leadership Initiative in the US.
TOLU OGUNLESI (36)- Journalist
Tolu Ogunlesi (born, 3 March 1982) is a journalist; his works has appeared in The Independent, CNN.com, Economist.com, Publishing Perspectives and guardian.co.uk. He writes a weekly column for Nigerian newspaper, NEXT, and bimonthly for 3 Quarks Daily, on politics, business, social media, books and the arts.
He is an avid commentator on African affairs, and was awarded a CNN Multichoice African Journalism Award (Arts & Culture) in 2009, a Guest Writer at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden; and in 2009 a Cadbury Visiting Fellow at the University of Birmingham, England. His work has been translated into Dutch, Latvian, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish.
In 2016 President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Tolu as his Special Assistant on Digital/New Media.
TOLU' AKINYEMI- Poet
Tolu' Akinyemi also known as 'Poetolu' is an Architect, Writer and Entrepreneur who was born in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.
The creative writer who resides in London, England studied at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria, and then at the University of Greenwich, London.
His Poetry was short-listed in Verses From The Sun (2012); An Association of Nigerian Authors, Anthology, A Way With Words (2014); A Great British Write Off Anthology, The Big Society; A poetry stage play written for The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, London, and The Greenwich-Lewisham Young People's Theatre. His writings have also appeared on other printed and online outlets. He has written two books "Your Father Walks Like A Crab" and "I Laugh At These Skinny Girls", both books of 'poetry for people who hate poetry'. Funny men cannot be trusted
In 2017 he won the Poetry Writer of the year (sponsored by Poets in Nigeria) at the Nigerian Writers Awards.
TOPE FOLARIN (37)- Creative Writer
Temitope Folarin (born, 1981) is a Nigerian writer who came to limelight after he emerged the winner of the Caine Prize 2013 for his short story entry. He became the first writer based outside Africa to win the Caine Prize, which he won for his story "Miracle." The story is set in Texas in an evangelical Nigerian church. The award of the prize — which is open to anyone who was born in Africa, is an African national, or whose parents are African — sparked some discussion about whether the author's connection to Africa was strong enough.
He graduated from Morehouse College in 2004 with a B.A and from the University of Oxford in 2006, with a M.Sc.
In April 2014 he was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of writers under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.
Tope Folarin's debut novel is titled A Particular Kind of Black Man and is set for a summer 2019 release by American publisher Simon and Schuster.
TOLULOPE POPOOLA- Romance Writer
Tolulope Popoola is an award-winning Author, Writing Coach and Publisher. She started writing as a blogger under the pseudonym "Favoured Girl" back in 2006. In 2007 she launched a group for Nigerian writers on Facebook which today has about 20,000 followers. She created and co-wrote the popular online series "In My Dreams It Was Simpler" with other writers and published the series in 2010. She wrote and published her first novel, "Nothing Comes Close", a contemporary romance story set in London, Milton Keynes and Lagos, and she is also the author of two collections of flash fiction stories, "Fertile Imagination" and "Looking For Something". She has written extensively for many magazines and publications, including Brittle Paper, The Creative Penn, Flash Fiction Ghana, The Mantle, Magunga, The Travelling Yeti, etc.
She is the founder of Accomplish Press, a coaching, consulting and publishing company that specializes in providing services to support aspiring authors. She was given a special Award of Excellence at the 2016 Nigerian Writers' Awards, and shortlisted for Diaspora Writer of the Year for the 2017 awards.
Tolulope was second runner up at the Women In Publishing (UK) Awards 2012, for the New Venture Award for pioneering work on behalf of under-represented groups in society. Tolulope's first novel Nothing Comes Close was named "one of the best books of 2012" by Africa Book Club. She has also earned the nickname of "Africa's flash fiction queen" for her unique ways with writing dramatic short stories.
The year 2017 was quite a busy year for her as she devoted her time to support aspiring authors. Same 2017 her publishing firm was nominated for the "Publisher of the Year" in the Ufere Awards organized by the Romance Writers of West Africa.
In 2018 Tolulope's Memoirs of a Lagos Wedding Planner" a collection of ten hilarious and shocking flash fiction stories, was number one best seller on Okadabooks during the month of June 2018.
TUNDE LEYE- Author, Guardians of the Seal
Tunde Leye, born in Lagos Nigeria is the author of multiple online series as well as an illustrated children's book, he runs one of the most well-read fiction blogs in Nigeria.
He attended Igbobi College, a graduate of computer science from the University of Lagos. He served in Yobe State, during his youth corp days he was the Chairman of the Yobe State NYSC Editorial Board.
Tunde published his first book "rat race" a children story in 2011. He is one of the pioneers' of conveying fiction through new media to his audience. One of his Short Stories "Saving the Kings" was adopted for a Short Film in 2014.
UKAMAKA OLISAKWE (36)- Short Story/Screen Writer
Ukamaka Olisakwe, (born, 24 October 1982) is an author, short-story writer, and screenwriter born and raised in Kano State, Northern Nigeria.
She regarded as a new generation Nigerian novelist with amazing talents. Her debut novel Eyes of a Goddess published in 2012 draws tears out of her readers.
She has been featured in the BBC. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and various magazines including the Nigerian Telegraph and African Hadithi. She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash, a television series produced and directed by Obi Emelonye and premiered in January 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.
Olisakwe was selected as one of the 39 most promising writers under the age of 40 from Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora, in the Africa39 project– a Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club initiative in celebration of the UNESCO World Book Capital 2014.
She is a member of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and was a 2016 guest writer of City of Asylum.
In 2017 she was nominated for the Miles Morland Foundation writing scholarship.
UMARI AYIM– Author, Guardian of the Fall
Umari Ayim is a lawyer, poet and writer. As a member of the Literary and Debating Society of her secondary school, Umari served as the director of poetry and also wrote stage plays for the society. Her first book, a novel, o'Twilight at Terracotta Indigo' won the ANA/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for Women Writing in 2011.
Her second book, a collection of poems titled 'Inside My Head' won the ANA Poetry Prize the following year in 2012.
Following the success of her works, Umari was featured in several newspapers like the Guardian Newspaper where an article titled 'Twilight at Terracotta Indigo: A healing process' was published on September 10, 2011. Feature stories on Umari's works were also published in Leadership Newspapers, Vanguard Newspapers on September 9, 2011 and June 9, 2013 respectively.
Umari is also passionate about reviving the reading culture among young people in Nigeria. She writes regularly on her blog, www.umariayim.com, visited monthly by thousands of readers who follow her weekly online literary series.
Her third book, Guardian of the Fall was published in 2017 by Quramo Publishing. Her other books include Gentlemen of the Bar, Apartment 7, Ila's Burden, Just Friends, Moshe – Diary of a Love Struck Lost Child of God, Tamisho – My Story. My Life andTwilight at Terracotta Indigo
UCHE UWADINACHI- Poet
Uche Uwadinachi, known as the priest of poetry, practices performance poetry and the spoken word as part of his vocation and religion. He is a graduate of the Lagos State University Ojo -2006 with a B.A in English Language. He belongs to a two-man music group named Kamazaiah- a culture hip pop movement. Their first compilation album 'Lifted' was released in 2007 under the Sound Factory Label and presently we work towards our next album titled 'Bad Things'.
He has also featured in several Nigerian movies such as Real love, Love of my life', Haunted love, Adam and Eve, You broke my heart, Who killed Dele, Veno, Superstory (No pain no gain) among others.
He was the 1st Prize winner of ANA Lagos Poetry Performance Festival (LASPOFEST)Prize 2006, 2nd Prize Poetry Winner of Ken Saro-Wiwa Contest USA 2010, 2nd runner-up in the National Poetry Slam Competition 2012 , 3rd prize winner for Poetry at the FNL POETRY Competition 2012 and Top Poetry Winner (March) of the African Street Writer 2013. Uche made the SECOND spot in the EGC AWARD "TOP 50 Contemporary Poets that Rocked Nigeria in Year 2013″ and got the Spoken Word Poet of the Year 2015 at the Nigerian Writer's Award 2016.
He has performed his poetry at top events like the 1st Tinapa trade expo, Wordslam 1, 11, 111 and 1V, Bookshelve-LTV8, Poetry-potter, Bristish Council, Samkard Tree-National Library, Pen society, Ayota Art Centre etc.
Uche is the author of the book 'SCAR in the HEART of pain' and its spoken word album. The poetry collection was published by BlackArts, while the album was produced by Tuntout Records.
In 2018 he was awarded "Voice of Hope" by DHF for his outstanding contribution in the cause of humanity and lending his voice to the voiceless in the society.
UZODINMA IWEALA (36)- Novelist
Uzodinma Iweala, son of former Nigeria's finance minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an author and physician who hail from Nigeria, born on 5th of November 1982.
He broke the literary scene with his debut novel, "Beasts of No Nation" a formation of his thesis work (in creative writing) at Harvard. It depicts a child soldier in an unnamed African country. The book, published in 2005 and adapted as an award-winning film in 2015, was mentioned by Time Magazine, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Times, and Rolling Stone.
In 2006, he won the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. In 2007, he was named as one of Granta magazine's 20 best young American novelists.
The film was shown in the Special Presentation section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and released on Netflixglobally and in a limited release by Bleecker Street on October 16, 2015.
In 2017 he premiered Waiting for Hassana, a short film based on the abducted Chibok girls.
Iweala is the son of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, world renowned economist and Nigeria's former minister of finance.
After 13 years since Uzodinma Iweala's debut novel, Beasts of No Nation, was published he returned with Speak No Evil which was released in March 2018 by Harper Books.
WALE AJETUNMOBI- Award winning Journalist
Wale Ajetunmobi is a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the University of Ilorin. In 2012 he became the editor of Campus Life with The Nation Newspaper-a 10page pullout. Writing has taken him to several countries and he's so passionate about his writing career which has earned him numerous awards from different bodies.
He has tutored many into failing in love with writing as well as discovering their innate potentials. Every year he mentors over 70 campus journalists across several Universities in Nigeria.
Wale is a motivational speaker and a firm believer of what he believes. In 2018, he joined the media team for Sanwo-Olu, the governorship aspirant for Lagos State.
WANA WANA UDOBANG- Multimedia Journalist
Wana is a multimedia journalist, writer, poet and filmmaker. Her work covers women's rights, human interest stories, art and culture.
She has worked as a freelance producer and presenter for the BBC Radio4, BBC world service and Resonance FM. She has been a freelance writer and contributor for Aljazeera Online, Guardian UK, Guardian Nigeria, NEXT, BellaNaija and the Huffington Post.
In 2015 along with Bukola Oye of The Sole Adventurer blog, Wana co-founded the discourse initiative Art Forum Africa a platform for discourse concerning the visual arts. Wana graduated from the University for The Creative Arts with a first-class degree in Journalism.
In 2016 she was long listed for the One World Media award in the Women's rights in Africa award category, for her story on the Mirabel rape crisis centre for Aljazeera. She is also an International Reporting Project
(IRP) fellow. She is creative director for the content creation company WanaWana productions.
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