Tomi Adeyemi is on the Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020

The acclaimed Time’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the world was released earlier Today and Nigerian-American writer, Tomi Adeyemi is on the list in the pioneer category.

Tomi Adeyemi is the author of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy of which two of the books are out: Children of Blood and Bone and Children of Virtue and Vengeance, both NYT bestsellers.

In the Time’s tribute to her written by another Nigerian and actor, John Boyega, he writes: “When someone told me about Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, describing it as a cross between Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia and Yoruba gods, I was shocked. It sounded like the best combination ever: How had I not heard of it? I read it, then I read it again, then I listened to the audiobook. I was being introduced to a world I couldn’t have imagined before. The characters were larger than life but with very human problems and issues. And the novel spoke to my self-identity and culture as a Nigerian, in its social commentary and in its depiction of both magic and oppression…”

“Tomi is the god of ideas.” Boyega continues. Highlighting the importance of representation in art and how Adeyemi’s books did that and will continue to that.

“When my kids are growing up, they’re going to have these new classic heroes from an environment they know.”

Boyega concludes his tribute by pledging to be part of the film adaptation which he said “will hire a lot of people and bring more representation to our industry...”

“I would absolutely drop everything to be in the film. If I missed the opportunity to be a part of it, it would be like missing history.”

Tomi Adeyemi isn’t the only African writer to have appeared on Time 100. Writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has in years past.

Time 100 is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine Time. First published in 1999, it is a list of 100 influential people, that “are recognized for changing the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions.”