Diversify, in partnership with The Conduit, is proud to present an inspiring evening celebrating the launch of Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s newest book, “Everything Is Not Enough”.
This special event offers an opportunity to dive into the world of an acclaimed author and experience the magic of her latest work. Join us for a captivating evening where Lọlá will read selected excerpts from her book and take us through her journey, the inspiration behind “Everything Is Not Enough”, and her experiences as a writer and storyteller.
The agenda includes the following:
– A short reading by Lọlá
– A fireside chat between Lọlá and Chisom
– A “Roundtable” discussion between Lọlá and some inspiring women, including Gabriella Bossman, Salamatu Kamara, Monica Ifejilika and Chisom Udeze. We are calling this bit, “A Seat at the Table”.
– Book signing
– Mingling, networking and snacks
BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE to join!
About the Book:
This highly anticipated follow-up to her debut novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black, focuses on the lives of three Black women as they fight their own personal struggles in one of the most egalitarian societies, Sweden.
Can a career woman truly have it all?
Powerful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi has finally found the man she needs, but Tobias Wikström thinks she’s the most selfish woman he has ever met for asking him to give up his life in Sweden and move to the US for her own comfort. Will Kemi be forced to stay if she wants to keep him while chipping away at her hard-earned career? As things begin to sour and challenge her relationship with Tobias, someone else moves back into the picture.
Can having it all be a gilded cage?
Looking into divorce in Sweden isn’t what former model-turned-flight attendant Brittany-Rae von Lundin anticipated. Only jointly owned assets are split evenly between couples. Brittany gave up her career and came with nothing into Jonny’s kingdom. Having had a child with him, her greatest fear for Maya includes being cut off from the resources she’s become accustomed to. With a man obsessed with a ghost, trying to get away isn’t going to be easy. And the deeper she digs into his past, the darker the secrets she unravels.
Can you run from your past to have it all?
After fleeing her home through a client to seek a new life in Sweden, Yasmiin finds love in the arms of Yagiz Çelik while carving out her own small corner. But as someone from her past forces Yasmiin to become a caretaker before she’s ready, she now must confront and move beyond her teenage history, while following her dreams of becoming a makeup artist.
Everything Is Not Enough follows the loosely intertwined and messy lives of Kemi, Brittany, and Yasmiin as they interrogate themes of place, prejudice, and patriarchy in Europe, proving–yet again–that Lola Akinmade Åkerström is the next great voice of nuanced contemporary women’s fiction.
Praise for “Everything Is Not Enough”:
“The best new popular fiction for October 2023…The soap opera energy is strong… The women’s paths criss-cross as their personal crises worsen – all stemming from the struggles they are facing as black women in a white society…draws strong characters” The Times (UK)
“Åkerström, a Nigerian American author based in Sweden, successfully rounds out the stories of three complicated women as they make mistakes and strive for their own places in the world.” Washington Post / 10 Noteworthy Books for October
About the author:
Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström is an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel entrepreneur. She has dispatched from over 80+ countries and her work has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes, and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such as Dove, Getty Images, Mercedes Benz, Intrepid Travel, Electrolux, ASUS, and National Geographic Channel, to name a few.
As a storyteller, Lola was named a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine and 2018 Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year.
As a business owner and entrepreneur, she runs Stockholm-based creative storytelling agency Geotraveler Media and was named one of the 2023 Most Influential Women in
Her book, Due North, received the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Best Travel Book, and she is also the author of international bestselling “LAGOM: The Swedish Secret of Living Well” available in over 15 foreign language editions. Her internationally-acclaimed novel, “In Every Mirror She’s Black“, was a Good Morning America (GMA) Buzz Pick, Apple Editors’ Pick, Amazon Editors’ Pick, Independent UK “Best Thought-provoking Story”, and was shortlisted for the Bad Form Review Book of the Year. Her latest novel, EVERYTHING IS NOT ENOUGH, is a Jennette McCurdy Book Club Pick, a Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Amazon Editors’ Pick, amongst others.
She runs her own online academy, Geotraveler Media Academy, which runs photography experiences around the world and is dedicated to visual storytelling and helping the next generation of travel storytellers put the heart back into the craft.
Speakers
Gabriella Bossman (She/Her)
Gabriella is the Founder & Host, Daughter of Guests, and Senior Operations Analyst at 3Degrees Group. She is a strategic thinker who takes a people centred approach to problem solving and solution design in transformational delivery. With experience in the public, private and third sector respectively, she has held programme and leadership roles internationally, placing people and authentic relationships at the centre.
Gabriella is driven by seeing people and programmes, especially those with evident potential and planned benefits to society, achieving their goals. Gabriella has worked towards this both in her professional career but also as a mentor for many young people, a trustee on various charitable boards and as a host and speaker at international events. She is committed to being an active contributor and change agent in any community she is in and strives towards creating curious and inclusive teams.
Chisom Udeze (She/Her)
A seasoned Economist and three-time founder, brings over 14 years of leadership experience, driving organizational change and sustainable impact. With a global perspective from working in seven countries across three continents, she excels in uncertain environments. Collaborating with entities like the European Commission and The United Nations, she is adept at building relationships with diverse stakeholders. As the founder of Diversify and Diversify Consult, she spearheads the development of sustainable Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) strategies for companies, governments, and civil society. Notably, Diversify launched the Diversify Nordics Summit in 2022, a significant conference advancing DEIB in the Nordics. Chisom’s commitment to inclusivity extends to HerSpace, a co-creation community, and HerTech, a Women in Tech incubator launched in 2022, prioritizing diversity in leadership. A thought leader in DEIB and advocate for mental health, her writings on these topics, featured in Forbes, underscore her influence.
Salamatu Kamara (She/Her)
Salamatu lights up when talking about the things she is most passionate about: disabled rights, anti-racism and women’s rights. Originally from Sierra Leone, she was raised in Norway from the age of three where she has always been outspoken about the things that are most important to her. Through her business “Kamara’s Speech,” she also works as a motivational speaker and most recently spoke at the 2022 Global Disability Summit about disability rights. Since 2021, Salamatu has been a news anchor on Supernytt on NRK Super TV channel, a part of the Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation. In 2023, she joined the team at Medvind Assistanse.
Monica Ifejilika (She/Her)
Monica Ifejilika is a Norwegian-Nigerian singer, songwriter and composer, perhaps best known as part of Queendom. The Black Arts collective has made its mark on Norwegian Arts and Culture for two decades with an Afropean musicality and a distinct political voice on both albums and onstage.
Since 2021, Monica has also worked as a senior advisor at Arts & Culture Council, Norway (Kulturdirektoratet), with a special focus on diversity in the Arts sector.
Nassima Dzair (She/Her)
Nassima Dzair is the founder and CEO of InterBridge, a social startup that provides leadership trainings. A niche focus is providing Gen Z insights to companies focused on the future of various industries. Nassima is a social innovator that is passionate about working for positive social impact and a more just sustainable future. Her dedication is building bridges between people, cultures, and generations. As a global citizen, Nassima has traveled the world avidly, speaks five languages fluently, relates to different cultures and has acquired knowledge across disciplines.
She has a unique interdisciplinary background bridging health and peace including matters of global health, development, security, international conflict and human rights. Nassima is also an accomplished public speaker, trainer and moderator.
