Abi Dare Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Abi Dare
Author Abi Dare grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and has lived in the United Kingdom.

She studied law at the University of Wolverhamton and received an MSc from Glasgow Caledonian University in International Project Management. She also has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London.

Abi usually only writes when there is a story for her to work on. The story is the most important thing for her to begin with and so she could work on building the story for months. Once she is excited enough, she begins writing. Since she is a busy mother of two daughters and still working a full time job, she usually writes in spare moments. One moment here, another there, writing until she has completed a manuscript.

The inspiration for “The Girl with the Louding Voice” came to her one night when one of her daughters, eight years old at the time, wouldn’t unload the dishwasher. Abi told her that there were girls the same age that did housework for a living in Nigeria.

This conversation she had gave her a new perspective that was common in the middle-class families just like the one she was raised in: employing young girls to be so-called housemaids.

That same night, Abi began doing some research. She found articles on mistreatment, violence, and the low to nonexistent pay that are often times part of their working conditions. There was an account of a thirteen year old girl whose employer scalded her with boiling water. Abi found herself harrowed by the report, but she was also pained by the fact that the girl’s face was blurred, making it feel like another stat to report.

Abi decided to write the novel in broken English, because she wanted to invent a character that would have both a fascinating story but last in her mind for a long time. She really wanted to hear Adunni’s voice and make her distinctive, and pay attention to all of the words she used in describing her experiences to properly shed light on her circumstances.

When she began writing the novel, she was only writing for herself and did not even imagine it would get published. She had a tiny hope in the back of her mind that she would get published, but wasn’t holding on to this hope.

She had no agent, and was writing in a supportive group of other writers and just enjoyed the process. She worte the book first for herself, as well as for her dissertation submission for her MA in Creative Writing. She really wanted to get to know this girl with her louding voice. Abi wanted to learn about her, hear her story, and understand the whys and hows that surrounded this girl becoming a maid.

At first, she had no fear, since there was just an audience of one, herself. Then when she chose to submit her manuscript into the Bath Novel Award competition, she started dealing with anxiety around its reception. Abi didn’t think the novel wouldn’t go too far. The departure from standard English would put many readers off, she thought, and make for an automatic rejection from the opening sentence.

Due to her doubt about whether or not to actually submit, the novel was the final entry into the competition. She was shocked it wound up longlisted, then shortlisted, before it eventually won the contest.

She tends to write and read thematically, and read books with writing styles and topics similar to the ones that she was writing. This is to draw inspiration and tap into the wisdom of writers that were successful before her. She read novels like “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns, both by Khaled Hosseini; “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker; and “Stay With Me” by Ayobami Adebayo. She read novels that chronicled the journeys of their lead character(s) so beautifully.

“The Girl With the Louding Voice” won the Bath Award (United Kingdom) in the year 2018.

Her debut novel, called “The Girl with the Louding Voice”, was released in the year 2020 and is from the genre of literary fiction.

“The Girl with the Louding Voice” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2020. This novel is about a young Nigerian woman that is stuck in a life of servitude however is determined to fight for her dreams and pick her own future.

Adunni, a Nigerian girl just fourteen years old, who knows that she wants an education. It is her only way to get a “louding voice”, the ability to speak for herself and choose her own future, at least according to her mom. Adunni’s dad, instead, sells her off to be a local man’s third wife who is eager to have her bear him a son and an heir.

Adunni runs away and goes to the city, hoping she will make a better life for herself, and finds that her only other option before her is a life of servitude to a wealthy family. Adunni is told, by deeds and words, that she is nothing, since she is a yielding daughter, a powerless slave, and a subservient wife.

As misfortunes muffle her voice for a time, they are unable to mute it. After realizing that she has to stand up not just for herself, but for the other girls, the ones that came before and got lost. As well as for the next girls, who are going to inevitably follow her. She finds her resolve to speak, however she is able. In song, in a whisper, and in broken English until she gets heard.

Fans of the novel found themselves astonished, captivated, and found that there heart was broken multiple times over the course of reading this truly original book. Abi’s writing is deeply evocative and addictive and is a gorgeous debut novel from one talented author. Readers are sure to fall in love with Adunni, who is a character for the ages. You wind up becoming attached to her and rooting for her to persevere the entire way through.

One Response to “Abi Dare”

1. Marcia Rudin: 2 years ago

   My book club loved your book (The Girl with the Lousing Voice) and wants to know if you are writing a sequel…

   Reply