Shani Akilah is a Black-British Caribbean writer and screenwriter from South London. She is a book influencer, co-founder of the Nyah Network, a book club for Black women, and was a literary judge for the Nota Bene Prize 2023. Shani has a Masters degree in African Studies from Oxford University. In recognition of her contributions to literature and community, the Shani Akilah Library opened in October 2024 in Woolwich. Her debut book, For Such a Time as This, won Best Short-Story Collection at the 2024 Cosmopolitan Book Awards.

'All the stories are heartachingly beautiful.' Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?

Shani Akilah is a Black-British Caribbean writer and screenwriter from South London. She is a book influencer, co-founder of the Nyah Network, a book club for Black women, and was a literary judge for the Nota Bene Prize 2023. Shani has a Masters degree in African Studies from Oxford University. In recognition of her contributions to literature and community, the Shani Akilah Library opened in October 2024 in Woolwich. Her debut book, For Such a Time as This, won Best Short-Story Collection at the 2024 Cosmopolitan Book Awards.

'All the stories are heartachingly beautiful.' Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?

Shani Akilah is a Black-British Caribbean writer and screenwriter from South London. She is a book influencer, co-founder of the Nyah Network, a book club for Black women, and was a literary judge for the Nota Bene Prize 2023. Shani has a Masters degree in African Studies from Oxford University. In recognition of her contributions to literature and community, the Shani Akilah Library opened in October 2024 in Woolwich. Her debut book, For Such a Time as This, won Best Short-Story Collection at the 2024 Cosmopolitan Book Awards.

'All the stories are heartachingly beautiful.' Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?