Rita Akoto Coker ( Akoto; born 1953) is a Ghanaian American writer, primarily of romance novels. She has published five books, including the 2001 novel ''Serwah, the Saga of an African Princess''. Her father,

Baffour Osei Akoto Bafuor Osei Akoto (1904-2002) was a Ghanaian agriculturalist, traditional ruler and politician. He was the founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement. He was a linguist of the Asantehene and resided in the Manhyia Palace 9 in Kumasi. ...

, was the founder of Ghana's National Liberation Movement.

Biography

Rita Akoto was born in 1953 in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Her parents were Helena Osei Akoto and Baffour Osei Akoto, a prominent member of the pre-independence National Liberation Movement and a chief linguist at the

Manhyia Palace The Manhyia Palace (Akan language meaning ''Oman'' – gathering of the people) is the seat of the Asantehene, as well as his official residence. It is located at Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. The first palace is now a museum. Otumf ...

. Her brother,

Owusu Afriyie Akoto Owusu Afriyie Akoto (born 19 October 1949) is a Ghanaian agricultural economist and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and was a Member of Parliament for the Kwadaso Constituency from 2009 to 2017. He was the cabinet ministe ...

, is a Ghanaian politician with the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

. Coker migrated to the United States, where she lives in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and works as a marketing consultant. She began writing romance novels, publishing her first book, ''Serwah: The Saga of an African Princess'', in 2001. She has since released four more books, including ''The Lost Princess'' and its sequel, ''Fate's Promise''. While Coker is based in the U.S., her books have been primarily released by Ghanaian publishers including Afram Publications and Kwadwoan Publishing Company. She regularly contributed to the Chicago-based magazine ''African Spectrum''.

Selected works

* ''Serwah: The Saga of an African Princess'' (2001) * ''The Golden Staff'' (2013) * ''The Lost Princess'' (2014) * ''Boarding Time'' (2015) * ''Fate's Promise: Sequel to the Lost Princess'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coker, Rita Akoto 1953 births Living people Ghanaian women writers Ghanaian women novelists American women novelists 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers American romantic fiction writers Ghanaian romantic fiction writers African-American novelists 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women