7 Innovative Nigerian authors you should follow on twitter

For years, Nigerian authors have seemed disconnected and out of touch with their audiences, But now, some authors are now using social media to help reach readers and contribute to public discourse.

And while “Twitter” shouldn’t be the standard when judging whether an author is good or "Deep", it’s worth noticing when an author challenges conventions, possibly enough to introduce new modes of storytelling.

Regardless of your taste in books and genre of choice, Here are some Nigerian Authors you should follow on Twitter:

1. Chika Unigwe

Chika Unigwe is the author of " On Black Sisters' Street"  the book that won the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature. Chika has a Ph.d in Literature and she has also received many awards and In April 2014 she was selected for the Hay festival's Africa 39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. Her tweets are mixture of politics, race and other interesting issues of immense benefit to the youth.

Follow @chikaunigwe

2. Molara Wood

Molara Wood is a journalist, writer and literary commentator. She was a former columnist of the Nigerian Guardian, Former 234NEXT Editor, contributes to BBC's web portal, and has stories published widely in the media. Molara also has a collection of short stories titled "Indigo" and she is definitely an author to follow as she tweets on Feminism, politics, history and other random stuff.

Follow @Molarawood

3. Lola Shoneyin

Lola Shoneyin is the author of the book "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives", which was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and won the 2011 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award and two Association of Nigerian Authors Awards. Lola is the founder of Ake Book Festival and her tweets are a delight to read as they are humorous, interesting and different cementing her reputation as an adventurous, humorous and outspoken writer.

Follow @Lolashoneyin

4. Jude Dibia

Jude Dibia is probably one of Nigera's daring and controversial author, He is the author of three well received novels: Walking with Shadows, Unbridled and Blackbird . Unbridled  won the 2007 Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Prose and was a finalist in the 2007 Nigeria Prize for Literature. His tweets are definitely refreshing and interesting.

Follow @Judedibia

5. Ayo Sogunro

Ayo Sogunro is one of those few Nigerian authors staying and making a living in Nigeria. Ayo is outspoken and he has spear headed so many hashtag advocacies against illegal detention, bad governance, corruption, fuel subsidy, and even the bring back our girls campaign. He is also the author of the book The Wonderful Life of Senator Boniface and other Sorry Tales that received an honourable mention in 2013 at the London Book festival Awards. The book was also listed by the Channels TV Book Club as one of the Top 15 Nigerian Books of 2013. His tweets encapsulate his views on politics, plagiarism, socio-political interactions, sexual and human rights and other interesting topics.

Follow @Ayosogunro

6. Nnedi Okoroafor

Nnedi Okoroafor is the only Nigerian author that has delved into the genre of fantasy, science fiction, and Speculative fiction. Nnedi holds a Phd in English and she has 12 books to her name, her first adult novel, Who Fears death won the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, was a 2011 Tiptree Honor Book and was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award. From her twitter Nnedi's love for African art is obvious and she tweets on a wide range of interesting issues.

Follow @Nnedi

7. Tunde Leye

Tunde Leye is the author of "Yobachi" a book based on the early life of one of the Nigerian writing legends. Leye is one of the first Nigerian author to make their book into an e-book free for download in order to encourage Nigerian youth to read. Tunde tweets reflect the mind of an average Nigerian youth, he tweets on movies, game of thrones, Mtv and other interesting stuff.

Follow him @Tundeleye