The list which was released on Thursday, May 17, 2018, saw Ado described as “Kano’s Jane Austen.” Ado, 32, who writes in Hausa, has authored six books featuring forbidden romance, polygamy, and inter-generational drama.

“Women turn to romance novels to figure out how to live their own lives,” Ado told TIME magazine.

Others on the list include American entertainers, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, and Ghanaian model, Adwoa Aboah, and seven other people.

About Farida Ado

Farida Ado is a romance novelist living in rapidly Islamicizing Northern Nigeria. She’s one of a small contingent of women in Northern Nigeria writing books called Littattafan soyayya, Hausa for “love literature.”