Namina Forna

Namina Forna (born 9 January 1987) is an American author of young adult fiction and screenwriter. Her debut novel "The Gilded Ones" was published in February 2021 and quickly entered the New York Times and Indie Bestseller lists.
Early life.
Namina Forna was born and grew up in Freetown, the capitol of Sierra Leone. After her parents divorced, Forna's mother moved to Atlanta. However, due to the looming civil war and general political instability in Sierra Leone, her father decided to also send his 9-year-old daughter to live with her mother.
Forna loved reading as a child. In an interview with "Elle", she explained that reading was her way of escaping the atrocities of the civil war.
In Atlanta, she attended the Spelman College, a private historically black women's liberal arts college. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts at Spelman, Forna moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, from which she earned a Master of Fine Arts in film and TV production.
Career.
In an interview with "The Guardian", Forna said that her father and grandmother were the ones to inspire her to become an author. As a child she heard them tell stories about strong women, such as Mami Wata, the goddess of water, and the Dahomey Amazons. She later found that western literature lacked black female heroes, and she was driven to change this.
Forna became the first Sierra Leonean American to land a book deal with a major publisher for a young adult fantasy novel. A week after the 2021 release of her debut novel, "The Gilded Ones", "Deadline Hollywood" announced that the independent film production company Makeready had signed Forna to write the script for a film adaptation.
Personal life.
Namina Forna is daughter of the Honorable A. G. Sembu Forna, a noted Sierra Leonean politician, and her mother is Ambassador and former Sierra Leone deputy minister of foreign affairs, Ebun Strasser-King.