Organizers of the Niger Delta International Book and Art Festival (NIBAF) have announced Nigeria’s famous ‘Queen of Books’ and President of The Awele Ilusanmi Foundation, Dr. Awele Ilusanmi, FANA, as one of the distinguished Speakers at the Festival billed to hold from November 27-28, 2026 at the Arts Theatre, University of Port Harcourt.
NIBAF, a strategic social innovation initiative to stimulate growth, investment and innovation within the book and art sectors, is conceived in broad national contexts with particular focus on the Niger Delta region. The 2026 (maiden) edition is themed: ‘Books, Art and the Niger Delta Heritage: Promoting Knowledge, Protecting Creativity’
Featuring a well-curated programme of book and art exhibitions, Book Reading Sessions, Master Classes on Book Marketing, Intellectual Property, Copyright and Talent Monetization, Poetry Slam, as well as a forum on ISBN/ISSN, NIBAF seeks to strengthen existing interventions in the creative ecosystem, expand opportunities for creative professionals, encourage productive partnerships and draw sustained attention to the critical role of copyright and intellectual property in building a sustainable creative economy.
According to the organizers, Dr. Ilusanmi, a widely respected authority on book marketing and promotions, would speak on ‘MAKING IT BIG AS AN AUTHORPRENEUR: STRATEGIES FOR MASTERING THE BOOK BUSINESS’ – a topic generally considered to be of special interest to authors, publishers, booksellers and other stakeholders within the book production and distribution value chain.
Dr. Ilusanmi who recently launched The Awele Ilusanmi Foundation, is the President of Literary Authors Cooperative Society of Nigeria (LITACO) under which she has positively impacted on the writing careers of many Nigerian authors, helping them achieve tremendous success.
She is the award-winning author of ‘Book Marketing Strategies That Work’, ‘Comforting Arms’, ‘Launch Money’, ‘CrowdFund Your Book’ and ‘Profitable Pages’ among other iconic books.
Having worked as a Literary Agent with Publishizer, an international Literary Crowd Funding Company based in New York, USA, her passion for seeing authors succeed has been variously described as legendary. She has been a speaker and panelist at several conferences focused on the development of the book industry and welfare of authors.
At the 2019 Edition of Connect Nigeria’s Writers’ Conference she gave practical insights speaking on ‘Successful Book Marketing’ and as a Panelist during the 2023 Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF), she equally shared her expertise on ‘Winning with Book Publishing and Marketing’.
A Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and member, Board of Trustees, Trinity Writers and Publishers Network, she holds a Master’s degree in Publishing Studies from the Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, USA, where she recently made history as the first Nigerian woman to be appointed Assistant Editor of the influential Journal of Human Services, Training, Research and Practice.
She was the keynote speaker at an event organized by Booksellers Association of Nigeria in October 2024, where she spoke on ‘Creative, Innovative, and Aggressive Marketing Approaches for Selling More Books’.
She also served as a panelist at the highly anticipated ‘Writers Interactive Network Literary Festival 3’ tagged ‘ARTSLIVELAGOS’ in November 2024, speaking on ‘Book PR for the 21st Century’. Most recently, in September 2026, she presented a Master Class titled ‘Crowd-fund Your Book: Proven Steps to Raising Money for Your Book Project – Publishing, Promotion and Sales’. The Mater Class was put together by The Awele Ilusanmi Foundation and LITACO.
As a deserving tribute to her excellence and impact, Dr. Ilusanmi has been honoured with the African Writers Tribe Transformational Leader Award 2025; the Trinity Writers and Publishers Network Award for Excellence in Education, and Nigeria’s Humanitarian Award by the Rotary Club of Ikate, Lagos, for her contributions to child literacy and youth development.
Furthermore, The FAMBI Group in December 2025, organized the maiden edition of an annual writing contest tagged “Awele’s Heart Short Story Peace Competition” with a winning prize of 150,000 Naira and publication of the best entries in an anthology.
Dr. Ilusanmi has also been listed in the exclusive 100 Prudent Women Compendium, and honoured as a Laureate of Enterprise, Growth and Organizational Leadership.
On May 7, 2026 she was honoured in Tanzania as one of the 100 Reputable Women of African Descent, in recognition of her “exceptional leadership, integrity and character while making significant contributions to her community and industry, and being a beacon of hope, torchbearer of change and a pillar of strength”.
She was appointed Vice-President of the African Woman Summit, USA in May 2026 – further underscoring the growing international recognition of her roles in promoting human development at various levels.
Beyond being a reliable pillar of support and resilience in Nigeria’s literary community, for which she is fondly called the ‘Queen of Books’, her Foundation, pursuant to its objectives of nourishing minds and building futures, recently inaugurated its undergraduate scholarship programme aimed at enhancing access to higher education for young people – covering tuition, allowances for food stuff, beverages, pocket money, and monthly internet data.
As global recognition of her literary accomplishments continue to swell, she featured recently at the Writers of African Origin in the Diaspora (WAFORD) ‘One on One Book Review Session with her award-winning book, ‘Profitable Pages: How to Sell Your Books Directly to Your Readers and Make Maximum Profits’. WAFORD is the Diaspora arm of the Pan-Africa Writers Association (PAWA).
With her growing profile as a treasured goodwill ambassador for Nigeria and Africa, Dr. Ilusanmi is currently working to secure foreign rights deals for Nigerian Authors, to ensure global book positioning, optimal visibility and rewarding deals for authors. She recently introduced the ’36 States and FCT Nigeria Rewarding Reading Project’ aimed at promoting reading, celebrating Nigeria’s unsung storytellers and uniting readers nationwide.
The organizers of NIBAF 2026 have expressed delight regarding her participation, optimistic that her presentation would address key concerns, introduce new innovations and connect authors to greater opportunities within and outside Nigeria.
