A Nigerian student, Oluwatumininu Akinwande, has been shortlisted for the 2025 Author of Tomorrow Award, making her the only African finalist among ten young writers selected from hundreds of entries worldwide.
Oluwatumininu, whose story Sun-Born appears in the 12–15-year-old category, is one of three shortlisted writers in her age group. The international competition, aimed at discovering and celebrating emerging talent in adventure writing, is run in partnership with Booksmart by Worldreader, a digital reading platform.
Speaking about her story, Akinwande said her work focuses on the emotional dimension of adventure rather than physical action:
“For me, adventure writing is less about what literally happens in the story, but the emotional adventure and the development your characters go through.”
Describing her story in three words — family, destiny, nostalgia — Akinwande explained that although she does not usually write in the adventure genre, she entered the competition to try something new. She draws inspiration from music and maintains a creative writing playlist to guide her mood while working on stories.
An avid reader, she cites The House of Hades by Rick Riordan as one of her favorite books, crediting the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series for sparking her interest in Greek mythology — a theme that often influences her character names and plot ideas. She is also a fan of Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike series, praising the suspense and pacing.
In school, Akinwande currently enjoys Design Technology and expresses an interest in product design and analysis. She said that if given the chance, she would travel the world with a few friends by boat or on foot, an adventurous idea inspired by her favorite animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Asked about her personal heroes, she pointed to her older brother:
“I admire his level-headedness and his ability to stay calm in situations where I stress out. He is always there to comfort me when I need it.”
This year’s shortlist includes finalists from a wide range of countries and age groups, divided into three categories: 11 and under, 12–15, and 16–21. Alongside the ten finalists, the competition has also commended 90 additional writers for their submissions.
All shortlisted stories will be published digitally on Booksmart, making them accessible to readers across the globe.
The winners of each category will be announced on September 11, 2025, with category prizes ranging from £100 to £1,000, along with book tokens for the winners’ schools.
Congratulations, Oluwatumininu Akinwande!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
