Tolu Daniel

Tolu Daniel is a Nigerian writer and essayist whose work explores themes of migration, urban life, and the African Diasporic experience. A graduate of Washington University in St Louis ^[1] with an MFA in Creative Writing, and Kansas State University with an MA in English. ^[2] His essays are known for their innovative use of narrative structures, blending personal and collective histories with a peripatetic mode. His first book "Exodus," a collection of essays, will be published by Cavan Kerry press in 2027. He was recently announced as the winner of the 2025 Isele Nonfiction Prize awarded by Isele Magazine for his essay Notes of a Nonresident Alien. He was also recently awarded the 2025 Heartland Journalism Fellowship.

Personal life

Tolu Daniel was born in Abeokuta in June 1989. His parents are from Western Nigeria. He completed his secondary education in Ogun State and earned a degree in Economics from Tai Solarin University of Education before moving to the United States to earn multiple Master's degrees in English and Creative Writing from Kansas State University and Washington University in St Louis. He is currently a PhD Student in the Department of Comparative Literature & Thought ^[3] at Washington University in St Louis.

Literary & academic influences

Tolu's work is heavily influenced by contemporary African Writers like Teju Cole and Helon Habila, Noviolet Bulawayo and Chimamanda Adichie, especially with the focus of their writings centered on the themes of migration, identity, and urban life. The use of walking, travelling, and fragmented storytelling to bridge past and present, often blending personal and historical elements are particular ways through which these influences show.

Notable works & honorable mentions

• The Silence We Made - Essay
• Exodus - Nonfiction - Issue 75 - Hayden Ferry Review
• Afrocritik’s 50 Notable Essays from Africa in 2024 - Afrocritik
• Winner of the Isele Nonfiction Prize - Isele Magazine
• Top Ten of 2024 | Nonfiction - Isele Magazine
• The Man Who Fought Boko Haram – (nonfiction) – The Selves Anthology, An Afro Anthology of Creative Nonfiction
• What Does It Mean to Survive - Issue 8, “Rust In Bloom” Editor's Pick - Barren Magazine
• African Literary Digest: 101 Notable Pieces of 2018 - Brittlepaper
• 32 Emerging African Writers to Know in 2022 - Blackboy Review
• My Africa, My City: An Afridiaspora Anthology

Further reading

• Our Culture of Complicity - Essay - Taxi Editorial
• The Silence We Made - Essay - Letters from the Inbetween
• Thinking Erasure in African Literature - (Review) - Olongo Africa
• Open letter: African writers in solidarity with African Americans
• Notes of a Nonresident Alien ^[4] – (Nonfiction) – Isele Magazine,
• On the Sunny Side of the Street ^[5] – (Nonfiction) – Lolwe
• In Search of Beauty ^[6] – (Nonfiction) – Olongo Africa,
• Grindr ^[7] – (Fiction) – The Lit Quarterly
• Desire Is Full of Endless Distances ^[8] – (Nonfiction) – Litro Magazine
• The Photograph – (Nonfiction) – The B'K Editions
• What Does It Mean To Survive ^[9] - (Nonfiction) – Issue 8 “Rust In Bloom”, Barren Magazine
• A Stranger at Home:Review of Looking For Transwonderland by Noo Saro Wiwa ^[10] - (Nonfiction) – Panorama Journal
• Every Day Is For The Thief ^[11] - (Nonfiction) - The Single Story Foundation Journal
• The Small Margins of Friendship ^[12] - (Fiction) - Scarlet Leaf Review
• The Things That Save You ^[13] - (Nonfiction) -The Nasiona Magazine
• The Face of the Little Girl ^[14] - (Nonfiction) - Panorama Journal
• A Brief History of Illness in My Family ^[15] –(nonfiction) – Prachya Review
•  The Man Who Fought Boko Haram – (nonfiction) – Catapult
• You are an Alien in Your Body ^[16] - (nonfiction) – The Magunga
• The Dark Road to Calabar ^[17] - (nonfiction) - Bakwa Magazine    
• My Liberian Delight - (fiction)- African Writer
• We must harness Nigeria’s creative potential for national development ^[18] – Profile by Samson Oti for the Nation Newspaper.
• Rethinking Africa as a Place: a Conversation about Africanfuturist Literary Narratives.
• Nigeria’s creative industry is a cultural global power house ^[19] – Profile by Etop Ekanem for Nigerian Vanguard.
• Home Is the Road ^[20] – Africa In Dialogue
• Making Impact Through Mentorship,Creative Writing ^[21] – Independent Newspaper Nigeria.
• The Travelers ^[22] – Tolu Daniel in conversation with Helon Habila for Afrolit Sans Frontieres
• Book Chat ^[23] – Tolu Daniel, Temi Oh and Wole Talabi – Ake Books & Arts Festival (Video)
• Intimacy & the Exploration of the Self ^[24] – Ademola Adefolami, Sibongile Fisher, Tolu Daniel, & Howard Maximus
• Book Chat ^[25] – Tolu Daniel, Paul Beatty & Nicole Dennis-Benn at Ake festival
• The Quest for the Truth in Writing ^[26] – Africa In Dialogue

References

1. "Tolu Daniel". Comparative Literature and Thought. 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
2. englishkstate (2020-08-20). "Meet the New Grad Students". K-State English. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
3. Thought, Comparative Literature and (2024-08-28). "Tolu Daniel". Comparative Literature and Thought. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
4. "Notes of a Nonresident Alien | Tolu Daniel". Isele Magazine. 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
5. Lolwe; Troy (2023-01-25). "On the Sunny Side of the Street - Tolu Daniel". Lolwe. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
6. Daniel, Tolu (2021-02-17). "In Search of Beauty". Olongo Africa. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
7. "The Lit Quarterly, Issue 4: Heres and Nows". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
8. Daniel, Tolu (2020-04-04). "Desire Is Full of Endless Distances". Litro Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
9. "The B'K Volume 11, Issue 4 by Chris Talbot-Heindl". 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2024-12-09– via Issuu.
10. "War & Peace: A Stranger at Home: An Essay on Noo Saro-Wiwa's Looking for Transwonderland | Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature". panoramajournal.org. 2019-12-21. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
11. Daniel, Tolu (2019-04-01). "Every Day is for the Thief: On Meeting Teju Cole". TSSF Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
12. "TOLU DANIEL - THE SMALL MARGINS OF FRIENDSHIP". SCARLET LEAF REVIEW. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
13. Daniel, Tolu (2018-10-14). "The Things That Save You - The Nasiona". www.thenasiona.com. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
14. "Lost: The Face of the Little Girl | Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature". panoramajournal.org. 2018-08-05. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
15. "A Brief History of Illness In My Family – A Personal Essay by Tolu Daniel - Prachya Review". 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
16. Daniel, Tolu (2017-10-09). "You're an alien in your body". the Magunga. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
17. admin (2017-04-03). "The Dark Road to Calabar: A Travelogue" . Retrieved 2024-12-09.
18. Oti, Samson (2024-11-23). "'We must harness Nigeria's creative potential for national development'". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
19. Nwafor (2024-11-22). "Nigeria's creative industry is a cultural global power house - Expert". Vanguard News. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
20. "Home Is The Road: A Dialogue with Tolu Daniel". Africa in Dialogue. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
21. "Tolu Daniel:Making Impact Through Mentorship,Creative Writing – Independent Newspaper Nigeria". 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
22. Afrolit Sans Frontieres (2020-08-02). Tolu Daniel hosts Helon Habila at Afrolit Sans Frontières Season 5 . Retrieved 2024-12-09– via YouTube.
23. Ake Arts & Book Festival (2019-12-06). Book Chat: Tolu Daniel, Temi Oh, Wole Talabi . Retrieved 2024-12-09– via YouTube.
24. Ake Arts & Book Festival (2019-12-06). Intimacy and the Exploration of Self; New Nonfiction Writing . Retrieved 2024-12-09– via YouTube.
25. Ake Arts & Book Festival (2018-10-27). Book Chat: Here Comes the Sun and The Sellout . Retrieved 2024-12-09– via YouTube.
26. africaindialogue (2018-04-27). "The Quest for Truth in Writing: A Dialogue With Tolu Daniel". Africa in Dialogue. Retrieved 2024-12-09.

External links

• Official website