Ivana Akotowaa Ofori

Ivana Akotowaa Ofori is a Ghanaian storyteller. She is a weaver of words in many forms, including fiction, non-fiction and spoken-word poetry. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming on online literary platforms such as AFREADA, Jalada Africa, The Kalahari Review, and in print anthologies such as Tampered Press’s “Tsoo Boi2 (2022), Tor.com’s Africa Risen (2022), Clinamen Editions’ “Daring Shifts” (2023), and Flame Tree Publishing’s “African Ghost Short Stories” (2024). She also wrote the main text for “Anansi” (Flame Tree Publishing, 2025), an extended essay exploring the folkloric origins and interpretations of the eponymous character. Her debut novella, “The Year of Return”, was published in 2024 by Android Press (USA) and Smartline Publishers (Ghana). Akotowaa has been included in the long- and shortlists for various awards, among them the 2021 Miles Morland Writing Fellowship, the 2017 and 2018 Writivism Prizes, the 2020 Toyin Falola Prize, and the 2020 Nommo Awards. She was a resident of the inaugural LOATAD West African Writer’s Residency (2022) in Ghana, and is an alumna of the inaugural JIAS Creative Writers’ Workshop (2022) in South Africa. She is a graduate of the 2023 cohort of Clarion West’s six-week summer workshop, and was a 2023 bursary recipient of the Milford SF Writer’s Conference in Wales. Her debut novella was listed among Brittle Paper’s 2024 list of 100 Notable African Books. Under the mononym of Akotowaa, she is also a spoken word artist, and has opened for the likes of Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye, Aja Monet, and Poetra Asantewa. In 2016, she released her debut spoken word project, the Solitaire EP, and has since been a featured artist on various artistes’ projects. In 2024, as part of Black Girls Glow’s Koshka Sound Residency program, she was one of seven African women featured on the collaborative album, Don’t Lose It. She lives in Accra, Ghana, and the spider, a symbol of wisdom and creativity in Akan culture, is her chosen totem.