Lola Shoneyin’s children’s biography Tunde Onakoya: The Chess Champion has won the Akada 2025 Children’s Book of the Year Award. The win marks a significant achievement for this inspiring biography that tells the story of Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya’s journey from the slums of Lagos to becoming a Guinness World Record holder.

Shoneyin announced the win on social media, expressing gratitude to her creative partner, illustrator K. R. Onimole, Onakoya himself for sharing his extraordinary story, and the Akada Festival. “TUNDE ONAKOYA THE CHESS CHAMPION won the @akadafestival 2025 Children’s Book of the Year Award. Huge thank you to my creative partner @kro_crasherverse for his beautiful illustrations. Thank you also to @tunde_onakoya for giving me such an extraordinary story,” she wrote.

Published by Ouida Books and launched on May 27, 2025, to coincide with Children’s Day, the 60-page book introduces young readers to Onakoya’s remarkable journey: from discovering chess in a barber’s shop to founding Chess in Slums Africa in 2021, a nonprofit that now mentors thousands of children. The richly illustrated biography combines narrative and local storytelling traditions to present Onakoya as a symbol of possibility for young Nigerians.

The Akada Children’s Book Festival (ACBF), founded by Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi, is Nigeria’s first and largest book festival dedicated exclusively to children. Brittle Paper named ACBF our 2023 Literary Platform of the Year for “championing children’s literature in Nigeria and fostering a safe and inspiring space for children to explore books and ideas.”

Since its first edition in 2019, ACBF has grown into a powerful force in the Nigerian literary scene, providing a platform for indigenous authors and connecting readers and writers. The 2024 festival introduced the inaugural Children’s Book of the Year Award, which was won by Lola Shoneyin for her picture book Anyibo and the Mother Hen.

Congratulations to Lola Shoneyin, K. R. Onimole, and everyone at Ouida Books for this well-deserved recognition.