Lola Shoneyin

Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian writer, publisher, bookseller, festival curator, and cultural activist whose work continues to shape the African literary landscape.

She is the author of the award-winning novel The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, which has garnered international acclaim and has been adapted for the stage and screen. In addition to her adult fiction and three collections of poetry, Shoneyin has made significant contributions to children’s literature, publishing ten children’s books that encourage imagination and cultural awareness. In 2024 and 2025, she received the Akada Festival’s Children’s Book of the Year Award.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the founder of the Book Buzz Foundation, which promotes reading and intellectual engagement across Africa. In 2016, she founded Ouida Books, a Lagos-based publishing house that amplifies contemporary African writers.

In 2023, she received the Aficionado Award and was named one of the Financial Times’ most influential women.

She lives in Lagos, Nigeria, where she continues to write, publish, and champion African creativity.