Abiola Abrams (born July 29, 1976) is an American author, podcaster, motivational speaker and spiritual life coach. Abrams has penned three books, including ''African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity, and Joy'', her first book from self-help publisher

Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. ''The New York Times'' dubbed Hay "The Queen of the New Age," noting that she became "one of the bestselling authors in ...

, published on July 20, 2021. Her second book, ''The Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love'', won an African American

Literary Award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

for Best Self Help. Black Enterprise included her inspirational podcast in "20 Must-Listen to Black Women Podcasts for 2019" and in 2020, her podcast was chosen by Success.com as one of "16 Motivational Podcasts by Black Hosts You Need to Listen To." Essence Magazine included Abrams' annual Goddess Retreat in their roundup of "Black Girl-Approved and Operated Wellness Escapes." Abrams' website, Womanifesting.com, discusses spirituality, personal growth, and entrepreneurship. Her previous advice columns include ''Intimacy Intervention'' on Essence.com and ''Abiola's Love Class'' on MommyNoire.com.

Early life and education

She is a first generation Guyanese-American who was raised in New York City. Abrams attended the

Brearley School The Brearley School is an American all-girls private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It educates approximately 770 girls in grades K–12, with approximately 50 to 65 students per grade. In addition to being a member ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Vermont College of the Union Institute and University. Abrams was a featured speaker at NYC Women's Empowerment Summit.

Career

''Black Enterprise'' magazine named her site one of the top African American lifestyle blogs. Her first writing project, ''Goddess City'', an empowerment play produced at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, was published in the anthology ''Say Word!'' by the University of Michigan Press. ''Dare'', Abrams' first novel, was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

on December 11, 2007. Her poem "Groceries" appears in the playwright/activist

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, author, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

's 2007 anthology ''A Memory, A Monologue a Rant and A Prayer'' alongside work by such writers as

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

and

Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticat (; born January 19, 1969) is a Haitian American novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, '' Breath, Eyes, Memory'', was published in 1994 and went on to become an Oprah's Book Club selection. Danticat has since written ...

. Essays by Abrams are featured in the anthologies ''Behind the Bedroom Door'' (2008), edited by Paula Derrow, and ''Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex'' (2008), edited by Ellen Sussman. In the New York Times Style Magazine, filmmaker

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She wrote, di ...

referred to Abrams' evolution from experimental feminist art filmmaker as "just one of many inspiring paths that briefly intersected with the video Chainletter that can't be broken." Abrams' short experimental art film "Ophelia's Opera" included in Miranda July's Joanie 4 Jackie Chainletter film series was acquired in 2017 by the Criterion Channel and the Getty Museum Research Institute.

Television and film

Abrams was a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

entertainment correspondent from 2011 to 2012 and a former host of ''The Best Shorts'',

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's (BET) indie film showcase and competition from 2006 to 2008. She has hosted or co-hosted such shows as the syndicated ''The Source: All Access'', ''

Source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

'' magazine's hip hop show, and ''Chat Zone'', an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

interstitial talk show billed as "politically incorrect" for the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

set, and appeared on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' as a part of his red carpet interview coverage of the 2007

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

in Los Angeles. Abrams directed the

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

''Taboo: The Controversy of Black/White 'Race Mixing' in America'' (2005), ''Knives in My Throat: The Year I Survived While My Mind Tried to Kill Me'' (2005); and

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s ''Stranded'' (2004), ''Ophelia's Opera'' (2001).

Works

* ''African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity, and Joy'' (2021) * ''African Goddess Rising Oracle Cards'' (2021) * ''Enter the Goddess Temple'' (2021) * ''Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love'' (2014) * ''Dare: A Love Story'' (2008) * ''Goddess City'' (2011)

References

External links