Olusoji Henry Cole (born 27 December 1976) is a Nigerian academic, playwright, and author. He is the 2018 recipient of the Nigeria Prize for Literature.[1] His research interests include drama therapy, trauma studies and cross-cultural performance research.[2][3]
Cole disclosed to Dailytrust that writing short stories was how he got his first publication. Speaking on challenges of emerging authors in Nigeria, he identified financial constraints and infrastructural decline as factors diminishing the literary drive in the country. He also recounted how electricity was a huge challenge while writing his novels.[8] In an interview with The Sun, Cole recalled that he began writing while in elementary school just to feel a sense of belonging among his age-groups. He also narrated how My Little Stream became his first published novel.[9] He published his first play, Maybe Tomorrow (2014), a story based on the plight of the people in the Niger Delta. The book was long-listed for the 2014 Nigeria Prize for Literature, and won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) award.[10][11] In October 2018, Cole's book Embers emerged as the best out of 89 entries that qualified for the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature. The book explores the impact of religious and ethnic violence on the living conditions of people in Northern Nigeria.[12]
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