Tomi Adeyemi has brought the gods back and, to be honest, she is a goddess herself. As a 23-year-old, the Nigerian-American author, speaker, and fashionista broke open the doors for Afro-fantasy books with her debut novel Children of Blood and Bone in 2018. The fantasy world, set in a reimagined Nigeria, features protagonist Zélie Adebola, a young diviner who strives to restore magic to her people after an oppressive monarchy took it away. Seven years later, Adeyemi has two #1 New York Times bestsellers, Children of Blood and Bone and the sequel Children of Virtue and Vengeance.
Now, with millions of copies sold worldwide and a movie in the works with The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood at the helm, her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy is ending with Children of Anguish and Anarchy, released June 25. As Adeyemi’s characters have grown and matured, so has she. At 30, she’s embracing and reveling in being a creator who can do whatever she wants—cue Beyoncé.
Unearthing Diverse Protagonists Through an Enlightening Moment
“I look at the world, and I just see the fabric of the world… I just see this as being a part of the fabric of the world. And so I’m grateful,” Adeyemi tells Nerdist. “I’m grateful to play a part with all the amazing creators and storytellers who have been fighting this fight, not just in our generation, but I even look at Gina Prince-Bythewood, who’s been creating these stories for us for 30 years. It’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m just excited to keep watching this story ripple throughout the world.”
Adeyemi didn’t always see herself within the fabric of the literary world. Although she was always a voracious reader, Adeyemi didn’t see herself on the page. This lack of representation initially influenced the way she described her characters. She routinely wrote what she wanted her life to be; however, her titular characters were often white or biracial Black girls. When she got to college, she began looking back at her writing and had an awakening: She had erased herself from her subconscious in the same way her Blackness was ignored in the books she read.
“We grew up with these amazing fantasy novels, these amazing characters, but the same way I can watch a Bollywood movie every day for three years and believe in love…fate…family…color…music…dance is the same way I can look at all these worlds and consume them and love them and say, oh wait, I don’t belong here,” Adeyemi said. “And even if I didn’t tell myself that consciously, I realized and internalized that subconsciously because what does it look like for a little girl to spend ten years writing herself out of her imagination?”
This personal journey of self-discovery and realization is a thread that connects Adeyemi’s work to her readers, fostering a sense of empathy, understanding, and pride.
The Tangible Impact of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone
Since the debut of her first novel, a wave of YA fantasy novels featuring Black protagonists, such as The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, and Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams, have emerged. This surge in diverse representation is a testament to the transformative power of Adeyemi’s work, inspiring a new generation of writers and readers.
Now, with her characters Zélie and Amari—dark-skinned Black girls with kinky hair—as the newest faces of fantasy, Adeyemi sees a new future for the next generation of Black girls. She believes the popularity of her book series and the forthcoming movie will make it impossible for a young Black girl not to see herself on bookshelves, television screens, films, and even toys.
“I’m so excited because when I put out Children of Blood and Bone in 2018, there weren’t [many] covers like Zélie,” Adeyemi notes. “They were few and far between. Now, if you click on Children of Blood and Bone, the algorithm is going to show you dozens of fantasy novels with beautiful Black girls on the cover. And [it will be] similar with this [movie adaptation]. When I was writing Children of Blood and Bone, Black Panther hadn’t been released yet. So now, to be actively closing out this trilogy in book form, to be actively awakening this franchise and movie form, to be meeting with cast and production, and just to see all the collective genius…brought to life through this film…in two generations, I don’t think a young Tomi is going to have an opportunity not to see herself.”
Inserting Ifa and the Orïshas Into a Fantasy World
The representation Adeyemi has brought to the culture goes deeper than phenotype. Her series highlights the ancient African Traditional Religion of Ifa—the Yoruba tradition practiced across the Black Diaspora.
Although raised by two Nigerian parents, Adeyemi didn’t learn about the Orïshas until she did a fellowship in Bahia, Brazil, after graduating from Harvard University with an English literature degree. She stumbled upon a shop in the market with the Orïshas splashed across plates and was in awe. She’d never seen or read about gods that looked like her. Thanks to her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, she’s brought these revered Nigerian deities to the forefront of pop culture, instilling a sense of pride and admiration for Nigerian heritage and culture in her readers.
“The way the Yoruba tradition has spread across the diaspora, whether you call it Ifa, candomblé, santería… it’s human, and it’s spiritual, and it’s divine,” Adeyemi said. “And when I started this journey with this trilogy and saw the Orïshas for the first time, I was struck with, I guess, my own divinity because I had never even imagined myself in a divine light. So to be face to face with these ceramic plates and not even know what I was looking at, but to see African divinity and be like, whoa, we’re out here.”
She said that being able to help bring Ifa and the Orïshas out of the shadows while breaking the stigma and stereotypes around the divination system has been beautiful and glorious. The reception from fans continues to Adeyemi’s heart. Those who practice Ifa feel seen, and those who discovered the Orïshas through this series say this knowledge was life-changing.
Children of Blood and Bone Moves Toward Live-Action as Children of Anguish and Anarchy Hits Bookshelves
Now, the film is moving forward, with Adeyemi announcing that casting is underway. She cannot wait to see how people react to the film and says working on the film has been breathtaking. So many creative geniuses—who she won’t name—are onboard to bring her story to life.
“[There are] Academy Award-nominated people who have designed things that have taken over pop culture in front of the camera, behind the camera…bringing a hundred percent of their genius to 1% of this story,” she teases. “And every single time, just my mind doesn’t know what to do with that… to have a genius come in and be like, ‘Look at all the details that I’m using to build [this world].’ To see a fight coordinator who’s designed a style for Zélie that no one has ever seen before, that never existed, and show it to me…like, what the heck did I just see? This is cinema-changing, and it’s all us…it’s insane and gorgeous to have [people that look like us] at the helm.”
The excitement about the film and the latest installment isn’t confined to Adeyemi. On Children of Anguish and Anarchy‘s release date, she kicked off her highly anticipated book tour at Barnes & Noble-Union Square in NYC. As she entered the sold-out affair wearing a stunning leather burgundy ensemble designed by British Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, she received a standing ovation with fans chanting, “Tomi, Tomi!”
The emotions culminating at the end of this seven-year journey overwhelmed her as she tearfully thanked her fans and family in attendance for all of the support they’ve shown her. After trying—and failing—to keep her tears at bay, she allowed herself a beautiful moment of vulnerability.
“This isn’t even about the book; it’s about looking out into this room… you’ve been reading this and supporting me, and supporting this series makes you all you’re blinding to look at right now…thank you for being here,” she said tearfully. “This has been the journey of a lifetime and encapsulates so much of the first half of my life. It encapsulates the girl in her room watching Naruto and reading Harry Potter. The teenager who desperately used to come to Barnes & Noble… touching the books all dramatically…even walking around at Barnes & Noble is very emotional. To come into this room and see all your faces means so much to me.”
As the Legacy of Orïsha continues to be a global phenomenon, Adeyemi is breaking the glass ceiling in terms of what Black writers, young Nigerians and others across the diaspora can achieve. Yet, she says she’s not focused on comparisons to calling her the “Black J.K. Rowling” (Editor’s Note: Pretty sure no one wants to be like her in 2024.) or Octavia Butler—the mother of Afrofuturism. In her words, just call her Muva because she is only competing against herself.
“I think there are greats who have done incredible things,” Adeyemi states to wrap up our interview. “I’m still wowed by Octavia Butler; I got to write a foreword for Kindred for the new edition…and that’s been such an incredible honor. It is an incredible honor to be compared to a literary titan. Even if I’m [considered] a literary [icon], I still want to put on [my] boxing gloves and like go up against [my]self and get better and stronger and deeper and learn more about the human experience and then like take you to church.”