Our story begins with a powerful woman....

Named after my maternal grandmother Alhaja Abebi Monsurat Lasaki, TAANI exists to celebrate bold women writers who are unshackled by cultures of silence and shame, belting the chorus of their voices for all to hear. On the literary landscape on the continent at present, there are many opportunities for fiction and poetry writers, but it appears non-fiction as a genre does not enjoy that spotlight and development. As a Nigerian woman writing creative non-fiction primarily, I have come into an intimate knowledge of our real life stories and the power they have to become a mirror, to see ourselves and to pursue freedom.

Alhaja Abebi Monsurat Lasaki (1937 - 1992)

Our mission

Our mission is to shine a much needed light on creative nonfiction, especially personal narrative written by Nigerian and African Women. We believe that these stories carry power for community building and healing through an ethos of vulnerability and authenticity. We hope to become a beacon of truth-telling on the continent committed to teaching, shaping and building excellent literary communities committed to the power of personal narrative.

Our vision

We want a world where creative nonfiction from The Continent is a well-watered genre, bearing much visible fruit such as increased awards and funding, scholarships, masterclasses and even residencies. We want to educate young girls, strengthen women writers and equip them to share their truth with the world with all the bravery and power they need. We want a world where we speak ourselves free.

Meet the Founder

Mofiyinfoluwa O. is a writer from Lagos, Nigeria.

She received a First Class Bachelors of Law from Durham University in 2020. An avid reader from childhood, the global pandemic provided a unique opportunity to immerse herself in the world of literature, steadily guiding her towards a full fledged career in writing. In the Fall of 2022, Mofiyinfoluwa was admitted into the prestigious Non Fiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa as an MFA candidate, awarded The Iowa Arts Fellowship for an outstanding application. Whilst undergoing her studies there, she has received numerous awards such as The Magdalena Award, The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and The Stanley Award for International Research.

As a writer, her work is concerned with emotional interiority as experienced by women alongside body, memory and desire. Her work has appeared in Guernica, The Black Warrior Review, Lolwe, AFREADA and has been selected as a 2023 Best American Essay Notable Entry. She founded The Abebi Afrononfiction Institute in September 2023, to shine a much needed light on creative nonfiction; a genre she is deeply loyal to as a fountain of healing and strength. She has high hopes for TAANI, and with God's help she will see The Institute become a foremost literary organization empowering women writers all over Africa. She is in her final year of the MFA at Iowa, where she is currently at work on her debut memoir interrogating beauty, the body and its relationship with desire.

We want to see African women undressing every shameful thing we have been told to bury. Brandishing our truth on the page, telling this world that it does not have the power to keep our mouths shut.

'We are the rain-blessed earth from which flowers of truth bloom. We are the ones who speak ourselves into glorious sight. Listen to us.'