News

2024

January 2 – Akeem Balogun writes about Slew’s debut, Face Value, for Now Then magazine.

2023

December 30 – Akeem Balogun spoke to Xanthè Palmer about writing on BBC Radio Sheffield (at 1:35:00 onwards).

October 28 – Wynter’s Paper, an event and short story by Akeem Balogun around aging populations featuring support from anthropologist Matthew Lariviere, musician Wodwo and storyteller Christina Ramsey.

March 17 – Akeem Balogun writes about ColdLife by Kyeza and Frost.

January 17 – Three pieces of flash fiction appear in Frontier Magazine’s issue four

2022

October 22 – Words, Vision & Sound, an event curated by Akeem Balogun that projects three stories around audiences and amplifies it with narration and ambient sound effects. It features writers Laura Bui, Selma Dabbagh and James Giddings, projectionist Zaron, musicians Commodo, DSL Official, Utah? and Rider Shafique, and Georgia Williams.

October 14 – Jamie Vietch and Akeem Balogun talk about Words, Vision & Sound and creativity.

October 13 – An interview with Lucy Riddell from Forge Press around Words, Vision & Sound.

July – The Young Critics from Brinsworth Academy write about their visit to the National Videogame Museum on Our Favourite Places following a session with Akeem Balogun.

May – Kirsty Doole and Naomi Frisby discuss The Storm on the Late to It podcast (conversation begins at 32:25).

January 14 – Duncan Lawie reviews The Storm for Strange Horizons.

2021

November 8 – Akeem Balogun curates four compilations for ambient artist, Wodwo: AnalectFlorilegium, Garland and Corpus.

October 19 – The Storm: One-Year Party at Sidney & Matilda in Sheffield, UK, featuring Rider Shafique, Utah?, DSL OFFICIAL and Dan G. 

August 31 – The District comes third in the Daniel Goldsmith Associates’ First Novel Prize.

July 2 – Balogun’s unpublished novel, The District, is shortlisted for the Daniel Goldsmith Associates’ First Novel Prize.

June 9 – The Storm wins the Somerset Maugham Award, awarded by the Society of Authors for writers under 30.

March 14 – Plots and Points reviews The Storm. 

February 13 – A special version of An Ill Wind appears on Litro

January 15 David Hebblethwaite reviews The Storm on David’s Book World.

January 14 – The audiobook for The Storm is available on Audible. Watch a visual for one of its stories, Soulmate, on YouTube.

2020

Winter 2020 – Michael Caines reviews The Storm for the Brixton Review of Books‘ winter issue. 

December 17 – Kate Tyte reviews The Storm on The Short Story

November 20 – Nathan Ryder and Arantza Pardo detail the process behind designing the cover for The Storm on SPINE Magazine. Read it here

November 8 – Steve Clarkson from Found Fiction has a conversation with Akeem Balogun for Look Closer. The two talk about writing, creative processes, learnings, characters and more. Listen to it all here.

October 28 – Jamie Ryder reviews The Storm on The Comic Vault.

October 20 – An interview with Jo Food from Exposed Magazine about writing and The Storm. Read it here.  

October 20 – Brett Hackett and Akeem Balogun are interviewed by Sam Gregory from Now Then magazine about Okapi Books and The Storm. Read it here.  

October 19 – Akeem Balogun’s debut short story collection, The Storm, is released through Okapi Books. Buy it here

October 18 – A conversation with author Benjamin Webster about Balogun’s debut collection, The Storm. Part of the Off the Shelf Festival of Words. Learn more

October 14 – The Literary Consultancy feature Balogun on their website, looking at the part they, Ray Robinson and Jonathan McAloon played in the creation of The Storm.

October 14 – Read an interview with Balogun and Annalissa Toccara in Our Favourite Places, looking at his reasons for writing and his debut collection, The Storm.

October 5 – Sile Sibanda and Akeem Balogun talk about The Storm on BBC Radio Sheffield. Listen here.

September 17 – Sheffield Carescapes: Potential Futures for a Caring Society, a part of Festival of the Mind, takes place. Listen to and read the stories that Balogun wrote for the project here.

June 19 – Jane Armstrong gives Akeem Balogun his first ever interview on Sheffield Live’s Write Radio show. Listen here.

May 14 – The Storm, the debut short story collection by Akeem Balogun, will be out this year on October 19th through Okapi Books. Read a story from the collection here

January 22 – The short story Silhouettes is featured in issue 2  of Pomme Journal.

2019

November 2019 to January 2020 – Several creative descriptions by Akeem Balogun are displayed in businesses throughout Leeds for It’s Proper Art.

March 4 to 10  Akeem Balogun takes part in the Found Fiction and Leeds Literature Festival collaboration Tweeting a Tale.

2018

December 3 – In-between Curtains appears in the Blank Street Writers anthology Beyond the Sea.

September 23 – The short story Mbaso is featured in the Writing as Resistance anthology.

June 27 – The story Marc Populaire is shortlisted for Writers’ Forum short story competition. 

June 15 – Akeem Balogun’s short story Room Four is performed on Write Radio show. Listen here.

2017

April 4 – Akeem Balogun is The Literary Consultancy’s Showcase Author. The Literary Consultancy’s author showcases highlight the work of one author whose work they have have helped en route to commercial publication, or whose work a reader particularly championed. Read Akeem’s showcase, including the short story In-between Curtains, here.

2016

February – The short story Cold Expressions is featured in Now Then Magazine #95.

2015

October – In celebration of Dylan Thomas, the poem I Locked Myself Away is featured on Shedloads of Work.

November – The short story Pick ‘n’ Mix is featured in Now Then Magazine #92.

2014

October – The short story Mannequin is runner up in Off the Shelf’s Retail Tales competition.

2012

The short story Stop, Look and Listen appears on Notes from the Underground.

May – The short story Tell Us the Story about the Magician appears in In the Red #10.

April – The short story Jump appears in Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1.