Tomi Adeyemi

Adeyemi’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria before she was born. Though her father was a doctor in Nigeria, both her parents worked low-wage jobs when Adeyemi was a child. Adeyemi’s parents didn’t introduce her to much Nigerian culture when she was a child, but she later embraced her culture: after several prestigious scholarships and educational opportunities in high school and college, she studied West African mythology and culture on a fellowship opportunity in Brazil. Adeyemi has been writing stories since she was a child, but her parents weren’t thrilled to hear that she was quitting a job at a Los Angeles-based film production company to write a novel. Though her first novel wasn’t well-received (and was never published), she wrote her second, Children of Blood and Bone, to submit to Pitch Wars, which pairs emerging writers with editors and other help before they submit their books to a publisher. The novel debuted at number 1 on the New York Times young adult list. It won several awards and the publishing deal and accompanying film deal were some of biggest ever for a debut young adult novel. Adeyemi lives in San Diego, California.