Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is the queer Black author taking the reading world by storm. The young writer has landed a million-dollar book deal in the States for her debut thriller Ace of Spades. Born in London, Àbíké-Íyímídé sought out reading as an escape at a young age. Now, the university student has released one of this year’s most highly anticipated dark queer academia novels which follows gifted musician Devon and popular head girl Chiamaka down a path of mystery, rumours and racism. Arriving in June, we sat down with the breakthrough writer to hear more about how her explosive debut book came together.
When did you realise you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve always loved storytelling. My mum would read books to me and specifically recite folklore from Nigerian myths and legends. I always wanted to be able to tell stories myself, because I really loved the way I felt when I had stories. In year five, I wrote a witch story which encouraged me to continue writing, and I have been writing ever since. There’s a pressure to do something that’s more practical so I kept on
