Nyani Nkrumah

Nyaneba or Nyani (pen name) Nkrumah was born in Boston and grew up in Ghana, West Africa. At the age of 15 she moved to post-independent Zimbabwe, and later, to the US. Her love of writing comes from her mother, a former English and literature teacher who entertained her kids by reciting poetry and Shakespeare soliloquies on the way to school. Her first short story, published by Herma publications in Ghana "The Right Kind of Holiday" won the Valco Literary Prize, spurring her to continue her writing endeavors outside of her work. Her first adult novel, Wade in the Water, coming out in January '23, is being published by Amistad HarperCollins. Amistad is focused on publishing black books that educate, entertain and empower.

Nyani graduated from Amherst College in the US where she dual majored in Biology and Black Studies. She also has a Masters from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a Ph.D in Natural Resources from Cornell University. She is also a Fulbright Scholar. Nyani Nkrumah has worked with the World Bank in Washington DC for the last 20+ years, as a task leader for various projects related to environment and climate change. She is married and has a 19 year old daughter and a 17 year old son.