Who is Ololade Akintoye?

Ololade Akintoye is a Nigerian Novelist, Poet and Writer, a graduate of Mass Communications and also an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR. She is also a Marketing Communications Specialist.    When did she start writing and what influenced your love for writing?

I am an avid reader and I believe my love for reading inspired my love for writing. I read my first 'big' novel 'Roots' which had like a thousand pages at the age of eight. Stories inspire me and I believe Africa has a rich cultural heritage of story telling that speaks to our history and our journey as a people.

Through writing, I'm able to share part of that story with the world as well as lend my voice to social causes and influence positive changes. What do you do when not writing?

Ololade Akintoye is multi-passionate woman and renaissance soul who has her hands on many things that sparks her creativity and inspires her growth. From reading to travelling, millinery, crafting, spending quality time with loved ones and the list goes on. Favourite book of all times

That would definitely be the Bible. Any upcoming literary work?

Ololade Akintoye recently published her debut fictional novel, 'Brimestones & Rainbow; Memoirs of a Child Bride' and has a poetry collection coming up for publishing soon as well.

Thoughts on the literary industry in Nigeria, loopholes and challenges:

I believe there has been an emergence of writers in Nigeria in recent times, who have taken advantage of the Social Media as well as self-publishing option as against the autocratic traditional publishing.  However with that comes the challenge of churning out half baked content because anyone can write or publish whatever without the professional editorial guide. There's also the challenge of the really good ones getting lost in the crowd and not getting the deserved attention. I have read a couple of materials that I felt the  world needs to see this too! I believe that young or new Nigerian writers should write not only for local audiences but position themselves in a way to get the worlds attention. They should also have the courage to tackle social causes.

Philosophy of life:

I believe in intentional and inspired living which makes me dogged and resilient in the pursuit of my dreams.I also believe that purpose is often found in service to humanity.

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