Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American novelist and storyteller best known for Children of Blood and Bone and the West African-inspired Legacy of Orïsha fantasy series. Her debut received major young-adult and speculative-fiction awards, and TIME included her in its 2020 list of the 100 Most Influential People.

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About Tomi Adeyemi

Profile information current to 2026-08-22.

United States · Novelist, Writer and storyteller · 1 affiliation

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Known for: Young-adult fiction; Fantasy literature; Legacy of Orïsha series
Country: United States

Novelist
Writer and storyteller

At a glance

Children of Blood and Bone was Adeyemi's debut novel and the opening volume of the West African-inspired Legacy of Orïsha series.
The novel won the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction and the 2019 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book.
Adeyemi graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with an honors degree in English literature.
TIME named Adeyemi to its 2020 list of the 100 Most Influential People in the Pioneers category.
Children of Anguish and Anarchy, released in 2024, completed the three-book Legacy of Orïsha series.

Education and formative study

Adeyemi graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with an honors degree in English literature.

The Legacy of Orïsha series

Adeyemi made her novel-writing debut with Children of Blood and Bone, a West African-inspired young-adult fantasy that opened the Legacy of Orïsha series and was described by Macmillan as an instant No. 1 New York Times bestseller. The series continued with Children of Virtue and Vengeance and concluded with Children of Anguish and Anarchy, which Macmillan published in 2024 as the finale.

Awards and wider recognition

Children of Blood and Bone won the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction and received the 2019 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. It was also a finalist for the American Library Association's 2019 William C. Morris Debut YA Award. In 2020, TIME included Adeyemi among its 100 Most Influential People in the Pioneers category.

Forthcoming work

As of August 22, 2026, Adeyemi's official website listed her standalone novel The Siren for publication in the United States on September 29, 2026. Because that date remained prospective at the profile's cutoff, it should be treated as a scheduled rather than completed publication.

Affiliations

Harvard University Student 2015

Timeline

2015 Graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature.
2018 Published Children of Blood and Bone, her debut novel and the opening volume of the Legacy of Orïsha series.
2018 Children of Blood and Bone won the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction.
2019-08-18 Children of Blood and Bone received the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book at Dublin 2019.
2020 Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People list in the Pioneers category.
2024-06-25 Released Children of Anguish and Anarchy, identified by Macmillan as the finale of the Legacy of Orïsha series.

Additional verified details

Current context

Adeyemi's standalone novel The Siren was scheduled for U.S. publication on September 29, 2026. The publication date was listed on Adeyemi's official website and remained prospective as of August 22, 2026.

Biographical facts

Adeyemi graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with an honors degree in English literature.
Children of Blood and Bone was Adeyemi's debut novel, the first Legacy of Orïsha book and a West African-inspired young-adult fantasy; Macmillan describes it as an instant No. 1 New York Times bestseller.
Children of Blood and Bone was a finalist for the American Library Association's 2019 William C. Morris Debut YA Award.
The Legacy of Orïsha series comprises Children of Blood and Bone, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and Children of Anguish and Anarchy; Macmillan identifies the third book as the series finale.