Adeyemi, Tomi (1993-…), is an African American author of fantasy fiction for young adults. Adeyemi gained widespread recognition with her first published novel , Children of Blood and Bone (2018). The novel is the first in a planned trilogy called “Legacy of Orïsha.” The second volume, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, was published in 2019.
Children of Blood and Bone is set in the West African fantasy land of Orïsha. The story is inspired by elements of West African mythology, language, and religion. In Orïsha, the dark-skinned, white-haired maji are caretakers of the magic of the gods, which they use to benefit the land. The light-skinned King of Orïsha ordered a raid that killed most of the maji, and enslaved the survivors. The defeat of the maji robbed Orïsha of its magic. The teenage maji heroine Zélie Adebola sets out on the dangerous mission of restoring magic to her people. In the second volume, Zélie’s ritual to restore magic yields unexpected consequences, and the struggle for power between the maji and the monarchy takes new directions.
Adeyemi was born on Aug. 1, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, of parents who emigrated from Nigeria. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in 2011. Adeyemi graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with a degree in English literature. She studied West African culture and mythology in Salvador, Brazil, after graduation. Adeyemi teaches creative writing on her website, www.tomiadeyemi.com.
