Ayodele Olofintuade

Ayodele Olofintuade
Born
Ayọ̀délé Ọlọ́fintúádé

Ibadan, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
CitizenshipNigerian
Occupation(s)Writer, journalist and faminist
WebsiteOfficial website

Ayodele Olofintuade is a Nigerian writer, journalist, and feminist. She identifies as queer and non-binary in Nigeria, which is an anti-LGBTQ country.[1]

Biography

Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Olofintuade grew up between Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta.[2][3] They are a self-supporting, full-time writer whose works are focused primarily on feminism in Africa,[4] Yorùbá spirituality (cutting across Africa and the Diaspora) the Nigerian LGBTQ community,[5][6] and gender non-conforming persons in Nigeria.[7] Olofintuade has two children.[6]{[8]

Writing

Their first major work of literature was Eno's Story (2010),[9] a children's story published by Cassava Republic Press and shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2011.[10][11][12] It addressed the issue of child-trafficking that has been plaguing Nigeria for a long time.[13]

Their first major article on LGBTQ persons in Nigeria, "The A-B-C of Sexuality" (2014) on NigeriansTalk, was published immediately after the passage of the Same Sex Marriage Act of 2013 as part of the advocacy tools for the promulgation of the law.[14] It was around this same time they also published their first major serialised novella, Adunni: The Beautiful Ones Have not yet Died (2014) on Brittle Paper, in which some of the characters were queer.[15]

Olofintuade writes both for adults and children, especially children from disadvantaged areas. She is also an activist. Her first book, in 2011, was shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature.[10][11][12] She has had her work published in numerous magazines and journals in Nigeria, including NigeriansTalk and Anathema. Olofintuade is also the managing director of a website about the negative impact of inequality.[16][17][3][18][19]

In 2019, Olofintuade published her fiction titled Lakiroboto Chronicles, the book was later re-published in 2023 by Cypher press.[20][21][22][23]

Olofintuade's deep knowledge of Yorùbá spirituality and culture means that they are an important go-to for younger artists. With Laipo Read, they provide educational support for children from basic to secondary-school level.[24][25] [26][27]

Bibliography

  • Eno's Story (Cassava Republic, 2010)[28][29]
  • Lakiriboto Chronicles [30][31][18][32]
  • The Whirlwind [33]
  • Adunni: The Beautiful One Has not Yet Died [34]
  • King of the Heap [35]
  • King of the Heap Learns to Read [35]
  • Children of the Rainbow [35][3]

References

  1. ^ Mannak, Miriam (2 November 2017). "Africa's artists step from shadows of colonialism and into spotlight". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ Moura, K.M.C. (2020). Megacity. Boiler House Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-911343-82-0. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Ryman, Geoff (27 April 2018). "Ayodele Olofintuade". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Female in Nigeria: Profile". Feminist Africa (22). 4 February 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  5. ^ Branch, A.; Mampilly, Z. (2015). Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change. African Arguments. Zed Books. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-78032-999-4. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b Edoro, Ainehi (21 August 2015). "Ibadan Girl at the Stockholm Pride: Ayodele Olofintuade: An Essay". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  7. ^ Iftikhar, Asyia (8 March 2023). "23 brilliant sapphic books that will be taking over your reading list this year". PinkNews. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Contributors". Feminist Africa (22): 257–264. 2017. JSTOR 48725764.
  9. ^ Dike, Virginia W. (2011). Birds of our land: a child's guide to west african birds. Robin Gowen. Abuja: Cassava Republic Press. ISBN 978-978-906-090-0. OCLC 893742114.
  10. ^ a b "NLNG Prize is not a do-or-die thing – Ayodele Olofintuade". Daily Trust. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Who clinches $100,000 NLNG Literature prize?". Vanguard News. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b Iwunze-Ibiam, Chioma (7 September 2011). "NIGERIA PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2011 FINAL SHORTLIST". Creative Writing News. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  13. ^ "I Simply Write From A Place of Truth - In Conversation with Ayodele Olofintuade – Syncity NG". Syncity NG – Your hangout zone for everything African literature. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  14. ^ "The ABC of Sexuality".
  15. ^ Edoro, Ainehi (18 February 2014). "The Beautiful One Has Not Yet Died — An African Story Ensemble". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Ayodele Olofintuade". Cassava Republic Press. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ "[Interview] Ayodele Olofintuade". Conversations with Writers. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  18. ^ a b Murua, James (17 October 2018). "Ayodele Olofintuade's 'Lakiriboto Chronicles' is really good". James Murua's Literature Blog. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  19. ^ Alhassan, Amina (14 October 2018). "Giving an empty page life is a gift – Ayodele Olofintuade – Daily Trust". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  20. ^ Columnist, Guest (2 July 2023). "Lákíríboto by Ayodele Olofintuade review: Amidst all the death, we celebrate life". The Big Issue. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Lakriboto Chronicles: A Brief History of Badly Behaved Women". Van Aggelen African Literary Agency. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  22. ^ Kan, Toni (26 June 2022). "Ayodele Olofintuade's tale of badly-behaved women — Olukorede S. Yishau". The Lagos Review. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Ayodele Olofintuade". www.newwriting.net. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  24. ^ Emelife, Jennifer (17 December 2018). "The Pen and The Sword: Ayodele Olofintuade". Praxis Magazine for Arts & Literature. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  25. ^ Adejunmobi, M.; Coetzee, C. (2019). Routledge Handbook of African Literature. Taylor & Francis. p. 533. ISBN 978-1-351-85937-0. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  26. ^ Branch, A.; Mampilly, Z. (2015). Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change. African Arguments. Zed Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-78032-999-4. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Recent Events: Ayodele Olofintuade, Author of Eno's Story, Visits ZODML". ZODML. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Eno's Story". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  29. ^ Eno's Story - Ayodele-Olofintuade. ASIN 9789060904.
  30. ^ Olofintuade, Ayodele (2018). Lakiriboto Chronicles: A Brief History of Badly Behaved Women. BookBuilders-Editions Africa. ISBN 978-978-921-179-1.
  31. ^ Olofintuade, Ayodele. Lakiriboto Chronicles: A History of Badly Behaved Women.
  32. ^ "Lakiriboto Chronicles: A History of Badly Behaved Women by Ayodele Olofintuade". AfriBookHub. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Oya, The Whirlwind". Van Aggelen African Literary Agency. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  34. ^ "The Beautiful Ones Have Not Yet Died by Ayodele Olofintuade". OkadaBooks. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  35. ^ a b c Alhassan, Amina (14 October 2018). "Giving an empty page life is a gift – Ayodele Olofintuade". Daily Trust. Retrieved 29 May 2022.