Abimbola "Abi" Daré is a Nigerian author and public speaker who now lives in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. In 2018, she won the Bath Novel Award, and was a finalist in the Literary Consultancy Pen Factor 2018. Her debut novel ''

The Girl with the Louding Voice ''The Girl with the Louding Voice'' is a 2020 coming of age novel and the debut novel of Nigerian writer Abi Daré. It tells the story of a teenage Nigerian girl called Adunni who becomes a maid and struggles with many things growing up, includ ...

'' was published in 2020 to critical acclaim.

Biography

Daré grew up in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria, attending the Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, and moved to the UK for her higher education. Her mother Teju Somorin was the first female professor of taxation in Nigeria. Daré has a degree in law from the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

, a Master's in International project management, graduating as best performing student from

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University, informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley (), is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (originally Glasg ...

and a Master's with distinction in creative writing from

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

Career

She has said she began writing fiction on a blog and was the editor of her church magazine. Daré works overseeing app development for a publishing firm. In 2022, Daré was appointed as External Board Member at the BiC Corporate Foundation. In March 2023, Daré delivered the keynote address at The Social Enterprise Conference at

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

''The Girl with the Louding Voice''

Daré's debut novel ''

'' is a story about a teenage Nigerian girl called Adunni, who becomes a maid and struggles with many things growing up, including her limited education, poverty and her ability to speak up for herself. The book became a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and is a Read with Jenna choice and a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22:45 and 23:00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classic ...

'' pick. Published by

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

, an imprint of Hodder, it was shortlisted for the

Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...

for first time novelists. Daré was included in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''s list of 10 Best Debut Novelists of 2020. The novel has been translated into more than 19 languages.

Awards

Novels

* ''The Girl with the Louding Voice'' (2020) * ''And So I Roar'' (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daré, Abi Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton Living people Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian novelists Writers from Essex Writers from Lagos Year of birth missing (living people)