To celebrate The Roaring Lion Newcastle’s two new titles, Chukwuemeka Famous’ Many Ways to Die and Joseph Nnamdi’s For the Condemned, we held our very own online launch event to delve deeper into the literary artistry of both authors! The evening featured an introduction from TRLN’s founder, Tolu’ A. Akinyemi, on the importance of championing talented writers and creating opportunities in the literary space, followed by an exclusive panel interview with both authors and an in-depth audience discussion. Tolu’ A. Akinyemi also shared insights on plans to expand the imprint with hopes to sign more authors in the future and the pride we bring to our books and authors. He highlighted how stories like these can inspire the next generation of African writers who will shape the future of literary culture. Joseph Nnamdi’s For the Condemned is his debut novel, a dark fantasy, crime thriller, and a deep reflection on the corruption and police brutality within Nigeria’s police force. It follows th

Gbenga Adesina, an acclaimed Nigerian essayist, poet, and recipient of the 2026 Anisfield-Wolf Poetry Award, joins dRAFTed as the Guest Judge for the Q3 2026 submission period. The Roaring Lion Newcastle is thrilled to introduce Gbenga Adesina, who will be joining us as the guest judge for the upcoming round of dRAFTed, our quarterly support fund for Nigerian creative writers. As an influential voice in contemporary poetry, Adesina is the inaugural Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Global Poetry at the Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University, one of the leading centres for the study and celebration of black poetry in the United States, and the author of Death Does Not End At The Sea, which was longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award, as well as being shortlisted for both the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize and the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection. Adesina’s essays and poems have appeared across major literary magazines and journals, including The Best Americ

We are delighted to announce the latest fellows of the quarterly fund dedicated to supporting Nigerian writers. The selected fellows, in no particular order, are: 1. Chimezie Umeoka 2 Chinecherem Enujioke 3. Maria Oluwabukola Oni 4. Tares Oburumu Reflecting on this quarter’s cohort of fellows, Programme Lead Pamilerin Jacob said: “As we are in the business of handing out wreaths, not crowns, it is imperative to reiterate the dizzying array of creative talent that Nigeria possesses, making the final selection harder than anticipated. We are encouraged, yet in our task to carry on. We are delighted to keep edifying the ‘unacknowledged legislators of the world,’ and look forward to the next cycle ecstatically.” We recognise the time, creativity and commitment that goes into every application to dRAFTed. Whilst we strongly encourage unsuccessful applicants to apply again in the future, we ask that successful applicants wait six (6) application cycles before submitting a new application, th

We are delighted to announce that The Roaring Lion Newcastle are hosting our very own book launch for our two upcoming books: Chukwuemeka Famous’ Many Ways to Die and Joseph Nnamdi’s For the Condemned! It is a free online event taking place on the 26th of June 2026, from 6:00PM to 7:30PM. The Roaring Lion Newcastle welcomes everyone to join us for this launch, during which there will be book readings by the authors themselves to provide a peek inside these imaginative worlds. Additionally, we will hold an exclusive panel interview with the authors, where you can get to know more about them, their writing process, and their books. Following this, we will have an interactive audience Q&A to conclude the evening. Many Ways to Die is a collection of stories about strength through adversity, from Nigerian writer Chukwuemeka Famous. He draws on his own experience of marginalisation and how to find power within this. Secondly, For the Condemned is Joseph Nnamdi’s thriller, drawing inspiration

We are proud to announce that the founder of The Roaring Lion Newcastle, Tolu A. Akinyemi, won Literature’s ‘Creator of the Year’ award at the 2026 AFRI-BALL Charity Gala! As a community organisation that celebrates pan-African excellence across UK industries, this award given by AFRI-BALL, recognises Akinyemi’s talent and contributions to literature in a way that The Roaring Lion Newcastle is excited about. The AFRI-BALL is a youth-led organisation that, with these annual award ceremonies, seeks to highlight creativity, culture and impact amongst African talent in the UK and beyond. Held at the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle on Saturday, 30th May 2026, the AFRI-BALL awards gave ‘Creator of the Year’ to leading individuals in film, fashion, podcasting and more. Tolu A. Akinyemi being awarded ‘Creator of the Year for Literature’ recognises him and The Roaring Lion Newcastle as impactful and important in the literature space. Tolu A. Akinyemi, as well as being TRLN’s founder, is also a prol

Chukwuemeka Famous is a Nigerian writer and academic whose work spans fiction, essay writing, and literary criticism. A recipient of the Ebedi International Writers Residency, his writing has been shortlisted for several awards, including the 2025 Moon City Awards, Quramo Writers Prize (2020) and the Bold Call Writing Contest (2022). His new collection of short stories, ‘Many Ways to Die’, is being released soon. Ahead of the release, we caught up with Chukwuemeka about the new book, his writing process, and what readers can expect from the new title. Q: What was the inspiration behind the book? CF: Let me start by saying that art is supreme and every artist — writers, painters, poets, sculptors, photographers, musicians, name them — are its subjects. What Art does is to possess a person, transform them into an artist of some sort, and then through them, manifest itself via various expressions. So, when we speak of the inspiration for a work of art, it doesn’t come from the artist, but