Eight-year-old author, Mofifunoluwa Atilola recently launched her first book titled, ‘Elena in the Woods’ at a public presentation held at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos.

According to Atilola — a skillful pianist and tennis player herself — this artistic work of fiction was written to motivate children of her age to nurture their creativity.

Speaking at the launch, the young author encouraged young people to hone their writing skills and make efforts to write story books.

Revealing the inspiration behind her book, Atilola said her parents helped her develop strong writing skills and urged other parents to do the same for their wards.

“My parents motivated me. I can write so they can write a book too,” she said.

“Parents should motivate their children in case they need help. I started step-by-step by writing Cinderella stories. This is my first short story. Children can do other sports, develop their talents in music and other skills if they put their mind to it.”

Commenting on her journey to becoming a published author, her father, Mr. Shina Atilola, said, “During the holidays I felt she needed to improve on her writing and through a colleague I presented her for a writing training. I didn’t know she would come out the best in her age category. The organisers said they wanted to publish her short story which they did. She wrote the story before she turned six but due to COVID-19, we couldn’t publish it.

“As parents, we have a lot to do. Our learning starts when we give birth to them, we need to understand them better, discover their talents, and create a platform for them to excel. We should help them discover what they want and we shouldn’t influence  their decisions,” he concluded.

Atilola’s Elena in the Woods won the Jordan Hill Young Writers Award 2019.

Editor