🇳🇬 Author of the Kòkú Àkànbí MG fantasy series published by
@hachettekids
rep by HG Literary/ & Doctoral Researcher in African Art History
@unibirmingham
.
🚨COVER REVEAL🚨 I’m a second-born child, so of course I put even more heart into the sequel. Also, big up
@WaterstonesKids
for the reveal, the incredible team at
@HachetteKids
& my new illustrator Flavio who is responsible for this Spiderman X Marvel movie poster cover💪🏾🔥🔥
Demon dads. Flaming warriors. Ghostly powers. Welcome back to Olori...
This August
@MariaMotunrayo
's thrilling Jujuland series continues with Kòkú Àkànbí & The King of Lost Souls, with stunning cover art by Flavio B. Silva!
Preorder your copy:
I went to Oxford, came from a working class background. I was told that I would graduate rich with lots of well connected friends, ended up poorer than I was when I went in, living with my parents, friendless. They literally despise working class people at Oxford, lol.
@sianharries_
I got to Oxford from the same background. As soon as I left, I saw it wasn't Oxbridge that helped. It was connections from public schools etc and money to do unpaid internships in London.
When I told my tutor that I would be working in Boots as a retail assistant during the summer when she asked what my summer plans are, and she said, Why on earth would you do that? I answered, because of money. Because I can’t afford to be here without it.
I’ve always loved learning that’s why I went. Oxford is really just about elitism and weaponising rhetoric & a posh accent to get your way which is why so many (already privileged) people who go there end up in politics.
It was clear that if I didn’t want to be a jester for the upper class and perform some mockery of my Black Working class identity & be mentioned whenever someone was (rightfully) accused of racism or classism I would be alone.
Ended up with one friend who was from Tokyo so she moved to Japan right after, I’ve always had loads of friends. I’m a bubbly person by nature with friends I’ve had since I was 6, I could not connect with the people at Oxford at all & they made a point not to connect with me
I didn’t even understand my graduation ceremony because it was in LATIN! Wait apart from the 5 mins at the beginning where they boasted about not teaching us so we could learn the old fashioned way, by killing ourselves in libraries & being insulted by professors in 1:1s
The worst part about it is when you graduate and interact with people you are told that you can’t really call yourself working class anymore, even if you’re broke, and grew up without money, ppl assume that you’re out of touch which I don’t even blame them for.
Your points would always be invalidated if you pronounced a word “wrong” which meant a regional accent of any kind including a cockney one. I remember shaking during tutorials, when I was being asked to read, so worried about mispronouncing certain terms in front of my peers.
Btw, if you've made it this far, I do have a book coming out soon, all my novels bring out the magic of the Black British working class experience with an extra heaping of magic and shenanigans. Here's the pre-order if you're interested: 🙏🏾
@Libertarian196
Sandeep, I was misinformed about what Oxford was all about. As I said, I come from a working class background & went to a state school where I was sold a dream. Nevertheless, I graduated and became a novelist, my dream job. You did not succeed in putting a Black woman down today.
If World Book Day won’t make a statement, we as children’s authors will🇵🇸🙏🏾
Reading is all about empathy and we should use that to stand firmly with Palestine ALL the children deserve to be happy, well fed and live long fulfilling lives. We must never forget them.
World Book Day stands in solidarity with the people and children of Ukraine. This year we hope World Book Day brings joy and hope at a time when children need it most:
When publishing desperately acquired Black authors in 2020 they did not attempt to change the institution by hiring into their teams that are overwhelmingly white + middle class. We need diverse marketing teams, literary agents & editors to create successful Black books.
Despite the industry’s efforts to embrace diversity and inclusion, sales figures for Black authors remain underwhelming according to the latest data from Nielsen 👇
@TyburnFleet
Its sad how common this is and how it hasn't changed at all. The way they mocked northern accents at Oxford was appalling, as if pronouncing "Gap Year", as "Gap Yah" is something to be proud of 👀
On black British dialect, accessibility & linguistic racism:
Whenever I see my book in the dyslexic friendly section I feel really happy. My novel has multiple dialects/languages in it and characters have authentic Nigerian names AND it’s accessible for all readers. (1/5)
Woke up to flowers this morning 🥹🫶🏾 thanks
@HachetteKids
for being my debut publisher and giving me the series of my dreams. You create the most gorgeous books!
✨COVER REVEAL✨
I want you to all laugh and cry along with Koku.
If you’re a fan of magic, man-eating monsters, vengeful mermaids, friendship and soul swallowing swords this book is for you.
Preorder:
@indigojo_uk
@convencia
I went to Somerville a women's college, one of the more progressive ones where you can walk on the grass without being flogged. It's marginally better, I would've dropped out if I went to Balliol, quite frankly.
It felt like a risk to make Kòkú Àkànbí the title of my adventure fantasy series, but I knew it was important. I wanted Nigerian kids to see that a hero with a name like theirs could be the main hero in an EPIC fantasy! And this inmail I got proves it. 🇳🇬🔥
My Kòkú Àkànbí series available in TWO DAYS is based on Nigerian mythology and features a 13 year old boy struggling with sickle cell anemia who unleashes an ancient demon on a school trip & teams up with a clumsy shapeshifter and a warrior with magical braids to save the world!!
Happy Pride Month!!! 🏳️🌈 I can’t recommend this AWESOME read enough by
@Annaleen
. Punk rock meets feminist time travel. It’s a terrifyingly clever and timely story about a feminist time travelling squad of Queer women fighting against incels who are trying to remove women’s rights
This interview by the insanely talented
@adekunleGold
is so insightful! I highly recommend giving it a watch. Also, it reminded me why it was SO important to write a children's novel with a Nigerian protagonist that has sickle cell.
Singer
@adekunleGOLD
opens up about living with sickle cell disease and how he adapted his lifestyle to stay healthy.
About 80% of sickle cell patients are in Africa. Nigeria has the largest population of people living with the condition in the world
Happy Empathy Day! 💜Reading can help children understand intersectionality which is so important, especially now👏🏾. One of the main reasons I wrote the Koku Akanbi books is to help kids better understand the Black Disabled experience🧵 (1/7)
I wrote TWO.
My fantasy series based on Nigerian mythology features mermaids, Burna Boy, ancient Gods, money spraying, flying motorbikes and a tabby cat named jollof.
Life is pretty good I can’t lie💃🏾
@thebookseller
@bronzebygold
This reminds me of when I was walking around the quads of another Oxford college during my second year with some friends. The porter shouted at me only and said as I shouldn’t be there even though I was literally wearing my college fleece I was asked to show my Uni ID card.
Are you a hyper hyena kid, a moody ultra-cool teen warrior, or a morbid aspiring manga artist with dark powers?
To celebrate exactly ONE WEEK until my book launch
@HachetteKids
have created this amazing quiz where you can find out💪🏾🔥
All the white liberals who posted a Black Square in 2020, I want to see some actions since they’re killing us in public now 👀
I’ll wait since I have to hide inside my own house to feel safe as there are literal terrorists in the streets of Manchester.
Kòkú Àkànbí and the King of Lost Souls comes out tomorrow!!!
🩸In honour of Kòkú getting a blood transfusion at the start of book 2, if you can send me a pic of you donating blood I’ll send a free copy your way!
#sicklecellawareness
Busy? Like fast-paced, heart felt stories? Are friendships important to you???
Sounds like you need to read some middle grade books.
A 🧵on why adults should read middle grade for themselves. (1/9)
Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight is our Children's Book of the Month!
An impressive fantasy debut brimming with West African folklore, adventure, and a hilarious hero who would rather be anything but ‘the chosen one’.
Order your copy:
🚨ANNOUNCEMENT!🚨
Kòkú Àkànbí and the King of Lost Souls is out today!!!!
August is actually my birthday month so it’s especially wonderful that my series comes out today. It would mean the world to me if you would do the following (1/6)
#NewProfilePic
Holding my lockdown baby Koku Akanbi and the Heart of Midnight in my hands for first time🥹. Thanks for the STUNNING proofs
@HachetteKids
and the wonderful illustrations
@SimDougie
🥰🙏🏾✨
Thanks a BILLION for nominating Koku, for believing in my hilarious & quite annoying protagonist. I have the best ever agent
@LydiaRSilver
and a fantastic team at
@HachetteKids
that believe in me a lot which makes all the difference. Time to eat cake 🍰
Delighted to announce the longlist for Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize 2024
Each of these books is a literary gem, to be admired, loved and treasured forever.
Huge gratitude to the writers, creatives, publishers for bringing us this treasure trove!
#jhalakprize24
This week's issue of
#TheBookseller
is live!
With a round-up of news from The
#BritishBookAwards
, an interview with
@OlivieBlake
about her book Masters of Death (
@UKTor
), previews on Children's books publishing in August and MORE!⬇️
I had the most ✨MAGICAL✨ time delivering a glow in the dark interactive Kòkú Àkànbí event at West Norwood Picturehouse!
212 kids attended and the cinema was totally sold out😭👏🏾
Signing some Kòkú books in
@Waterstones
was an absolute dream come true. I even spotted one next to an Alex Rider book which is insane cause I was so obsessed with the series as a kid🥹🔥🔥
I just want to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey and who has made it possible to be here🙏🏾. My press release has just come out and I can finally share the wonderful news🥰.
Hitting stores on the 🔥3rd of August🔥
Pre-order🙏🏾✨:
"It’s mostly about finding your home in people who see you for who you are, a tribe where you belong."
@HachetteKids
has signed Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight, the first book in an epic middle-grade fantasy series by
@MariaMotunrayo
.
Read here:
🔥I’m THRILLED to be running a Glow in the Dark workshop on Orisa Mythology at this year’s Free Books Festival.
I’ll be speaking from 10:30am-11.30am on Saturday the 20th of July, so make sure you stop by and collect your free SUPERPOWERS!!
I’ve been invited back by the AWESOME
Lea Forest Primary
@lea_forest_aet
to encourage Young Writers from 6 schools in the West Midlands to work on their very own stories! Sadly I’ve been poorly so I couldn’t meet them all irl, I’m so happy I get to meet them virtually though!
@shardai_smithh
I would love to read this, especially as a so-called “late bloomer” plus where I grew up (greenford, west London) this was pretty normal as most of my friends (and me) had strict immigrant parents so… pls write away!!
Kòkú’s INCREDIBLE drip, courtesy of my amazing new illustrator Flavio B. Silva is inspired by John Boyega’s Star Wars 2019 Premiere look. I feel like he should see this 😅👏🏾👏🏾 soon come 🙏🏾
JUJULAND:
When Koku frees a spirit on a school trip, he has no choice but to seek protection in a forbidden African jungle. To survive, he must team up with a clumsy shapeshifter and a warrior-in-training who make being possessed by a demon seem normal - almost
#DVpit
#BVM
#MG
Sooo excited that Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight has been included in the
#PrimarySchoolBookClub
August 2023 vote tonight🤯 If you love monsters, magic braids and sarcastic teenagers head to
@PrimarySchoolBC
and vote using the pinned tweet🙏🏾🔥
Not at London book fair, but all day every day I support a ceasefire, and the freedom of the Palestinian people. Art has always been revolutionary. We have a responsibility to speak up about this.
@bookworkers4pal
#ceasefireNOW
#LBF24
Huge thanks to Ashley Thorpe and Maria Motúnráyò Adébísí for visiting the shop and signing copies of their brilliant books THE BOY TO BEAT THE GODS and KÒKÚ ÀKÀNBÍ AND THE HEART OF MIDNIGHT. Available instore now!
The association between “difficulty” and “blackness” is false, racist, and BORING in origin. Esp when much of pop culture is driven by black culture and Ebonics which means children of all backgrounds recognise it in their media and can relate to it more readily than RP English
Just finished reading Sadé and her Shadow Beasts and it reminded me that Yoruba is the only language that truly comforts me. Thank you 🙏🏾
@RachelWithAn_E
Everyone who has ever used a Bobrisky-ism needs to speak up for Mummy Lagos NOW! It’s always taking the ideas/language/style/culture of Black Trans women and never standing up. Free BOB!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
#FreeBobrisky
We are delighted to be publishing Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight by
@MariaMotunrayo
!
The start of an epic middle-grade fantasy series full of action and powerful magic, and inspired by West African mythology. Coming 3rd August 2023.
The power is in his hands . . .✨
🇳🇬🔥NIGERIANS RISE UP!!!!
My new book has a BLACK KING wearing an agbada on the cover😮💨
Imma need the support of every Oluwa in the country with this one✊🏿🔥
🚨Available for pre-order:
#Nigerians
#blackpower
I had the pleasure of talking to the incredibly bright students from the Enterprise and Stem group at Grieg City Academy about Afrofuturism, Sci Fi and their impact on Tech! I had an absolute blast discussing flying motorbikes & cutting edge stem cell research.
@faridahlikestea
This is why there are so many black anime lovers (myself included) it’s not just about seeing black people represented, sometimes you just want mainstream media with no white people. Fact.
@Simply_Sayo
@GiveBloodNHS
So proud of you Sayo😭👏🏾! I’m a regular blood donor too and I wrote a novel about a boy with sickle cell who ✨accidentally✨ unleashes an ancient spirit during a school trip, because I wanted a child with sickle cell to be the centre of an EPIC magical adventure.
#BloodDonation
If you want kids to go absolutely feral give them glow sticks and then super powers from Orisa mythology. You’re welcome 👏🏾 I had a BLAST today at Wigton Moor Primary & Kerr Mackie Primary School.
Happy new month! Happy read Caribbean month! And happy PUBLICATION MONTH to me!!! 📚📚
For Such a Time as This will be out on Thursday 20th June! Have you pre-ordered your copy yet? 👀👀
🔗
Feeling much better today! The writing community is a beautiful thing to be part of, the lonely feeling is always going to be there but so are the genuine friendships between artists. really grateful for everyone who checked in on me & talking it out helped loads!
Being a BLACK writer is so lonely, it is the best job ever but I do get down about it sometimes. I spent my entire career in Tech pivoting to companies that were actually diverse and now that I write for a living I'm often the only black + working class person in the room. sigh.
Finishing the Kòkú series, getting a Kòkú movie with a soundtrack that features loads of afrobeats & grime artists. Having books in lots of different genres esp Sci-Fi, historical fiction & graphic novels, and having a child dress up as one of my characters for World Book Day🙏🏾
My agent asked me an amazing question a while back that's still on my mind, and I'd love to know what everyone else's answer would be:
As a writer/author, what would success look like to you?
#WritingCommunity
#authorscommunity
I cannot express how much I LOVE doing school events and I will be making this a huge focus in 2024 👏🏾✨
I’m a huge talker in general, but I’m incredibly passionate about west African mythology and delivering interactive creative writing workshops🥰
Really enjoyed being invited to Stratford Library the other day for the second time to chat about Matilda, ancient Gods and shape shifting into alligators! Always makes me tear up when I see library versions of the Kòkú books🥹.
I’ll be back😉
🔥I’m THRILLED to be running a Glow in the Dark workshop on Orisa Mythology at this year’s Free Books Festival.
I’ll be speaking from 10:30am-11.30am on Saturday the 20th of July, so make sure you stop by and collect your free SUPERPOWERS!!
Being a BLACK writer is so lonely, it is the best job ever but I do get down about it sometimes. I spent my entire career in Tech pivoting to companies that were actually diverse and now that I write for a living I'm often the only black + working class person in the room. sigh.
We're super excited that
@MariaMotunrayo
's thrilling debut adventure Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight publishes one month today! To celebrate we're thrilled to reveal this exciting trailer, PREORDER your copy here:
@HachetteKids
Kòkú Àkànbí is back in a second magical adventure full of ghostly powers, dark demons and a high-stakes quest. Inspired by West African mythology, this is such a unique series that will totally grip readers.
@MariaMotunrayo
@orionbooks
@HachetteKids
🚨MEGA DEAL ALERT! You can now purchase the ebook version of Kòku Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight on Amazon for less than a quid, it’s a perfect half term read for adventure lovers aged 9+ 👉🏾
Kicked off
#WorldBookDay
with the lovely teachers and kids at Lea Forest Primary in Birmingham!
@lea_forest_curr
I had lots of fun chatting about ancient gods, and super powers and Nigerian culture and messing about with glow sticks!
@janerobinson00
encouraged my dream into existence. Now I’m paying it forward mentoring an aspiring writer each week. It’s SO fulfilling, I didn’t think I was ready or polished enough, but believing in someone makes a world of difference!!
Starting my loc journey with two strand twists. I was initially scared of the so-called “ugly stage” but I now realise that’s just anti-blackness, and I feel great!
Also fun fact, I chose the surname Àkànbí which translates (loosely) as one chosen for a special journey because in an English accent it sounds like I can be. I want every single child to feel like they CAN BE a hero too!
Dear Publishing pls stop imposing your exclusionary views on children as they don’t feel the same way you do, stop gatekeeping literature it’s boring. (5/)
Mian class enjoyed their visit to Stratford library to meet the amazing Maria Motunrayo Adebisi
@MariaMotunrayo
. They can’t wait to start reading their signed copies of Koku Akanbi and the Heart of Midnight! 📚📚📚
From the wonderful
@MariaMotunrayo
, Koku Akanbi and the Heart of Midnight is the 1st in an exciting new magical fantasy series based on West African mythology. Readers of all ages will be captivated by Koku's adventure, get your copy here:
@HachetteKids
Stay tuned for the most 🔥 EPIC🔥 Kòkù Àkànbí Event of the Year🥳
It will feature an interactive FULL CINEMA SCREEN event as well as a reading from me and a Q&A where I will touch on the themes of Belonging, Identity and Sickle Cell.
I’m sooooo hyped for this🥹🙌🏾✨
Took myself somewhere sunny and I wrote another chapter of a book I'm both scared to write and VERY excited about. I've been fighting imposters syndrome with this one but I feel like I'm winning the fight. 🥊
Book Tour Day 2🎉 I’ll be local in Manchester today visiting the local primary schools and I’ll also pop into the indie book stores so say hi if you’re about 🥰👏🏾
Really thought provoking questions by
@mirrormewrite
about how ancient joint enterprise laws are manipulated to incarcerate young black and brown boys. Amazed by the intensive research by Danielle Jawando into this topic for her novel If My Words Had Wings.
I had a fabulous time meeting 6H! Now I know that kids really like the strange super powers from Orisa God Babalu that involves cursing your enemies diseases…but also the ability to heal them 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 terrifyingly terrific stuff!
So many kids on my
#WorldBookDay
visits have asked for a FILM of Koku Akanbi, it’s something that is my absolute dream and I know it will happen one day. They’re manifesting with me now! Tweeting so I can repost when it happens🥰
When my novel went on submission, the feedback I got was basically that it was “gibberish” and too difficult to understand, yet I’ve had overwhelming feedback from parents, librarians, booksellers and kids themselves that it’s very accessible to neurodivergent readers. (2/5)
I'm unpacking my childhood, and I realise that being raised Evangelical Christian was being raised to be a Zionist who was so grateful that missionaries colonised my people. There are loads of Nigerian children named Israel as a result of this. We need to speak more about it🙏🏾