Tola Okogwu author page

Tola Okogwu biography

Tola Okogwu is a British-Nigerian author and journalist. She is known for her children’s books and young adult fiction. Okogwu wrote the Daddy Do My Hair? picture book series, which includes titles such as Daddy Do My Hair? Beth’s Twists and Daddy Do My Hair? Kechi’s Hair Goes Every Which Way, published by Faber & Faber.

Her debut middle-grade novel, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun, was published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Books in 2022. The book introduces Onyeka, a British-Nigerian girl with psychokinetic hair, and is the first in a series. The sequel, Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels, followed in 2023. The Onyeka series has been optioned for film adaptation by Netflix, with Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and David Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon producing.

Okogwu has also written under the pen name Lola Morayo, co-authoring the Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door series, published by Macmillan Children’s Books. In addition to her fiction, Okogwu has contributed articles to publications such as The Guardian and HuffPost.

In 2023, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in the Younger Readers category.