Author, Mentor, Co-founder of Sprinng, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering African writers, and Editor & Programs Director at Poetry Journal, discovering widely relatable ‘African stories’ from ordinary individual experiences.
Forget It • But Here You Are • To Bee a Honey • The Silence We Eat • Now, I Want to Remember • Heartbeat
Oyindamola Shoola received an associate degree in Psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY) - Bronx Community College, a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Behavior and Change from New York University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Poetry at the American University. She is the Co-founder of Sprinng, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering African writers. She is also the Editor and Programs Director at Poetry Journal, discovering widely relatable ‘African stories’ from ordinary individual experiences.
While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she interned at several top trade and academic publishing companies, such as Elsevier, Simon and Schuster at 37Ink, and Hachette Book Group. She also served as a student co-editor for the New York University SPS Dovetail Magazine (Spring 2019) and book reviewer with WRR - Authorpedia. Her writings, including fiction, creative nonfiction, op-ed articles, and poetry, have been published through several literary platforms and magazines like Brittle Paper, Black Fox, Phi Theta Kappa’s Nota Bene, Authorpedia, Dovetail, Kalahari Review, and others.
She has received numerous leadership, scholarship, and community service awards, including New York University’s (NYU) Founder’s Day Award, NYU’s Outstanding Service Award for Building Bridges, and WRR’s Recognition Award for continuous contribution to the development of literature in Nigeria. In 2017 and 2018, she was listed as one of the Nigerian Writers Award (NWA) 100 Most Influential Nigerian Writers Under 40. In 2024, her book Face Me I Face You was awarded Winner of the Kermit Moyer Prize for Craft in Lyrical Writing by the American University, Washington, DC.
Oyindamola worked in the higher education industry for over 6 years. Using her creative writing and storytelling skills, she has helped students secure almost $1.5 million in scholarships and gain admission to several leading academic programs. Simultaneously, she established the Sprinng Writing Fellowship that has provided mentorship to over 330 African writers since 2018.
Interviews & Op-Eds
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Speak Up: One Year after the Controversy - In Conversation with Trish Lorenz
2023 - Brittle Paper
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In Soro Soke, Oyin shares her vision of creative writing and literature in Nigeria
2022 - Cambridge University Press
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Cón-scìò Magazine Issue 1 Ft. Oyindamola Shoola - "Regeneration"
2021 - Words Rhymes and Rhythm
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Guest Post: Impeaching White Jesus, Recreating Poetry In Nigerian Literature
2017 - Black Fox Lit Mag
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Feature on We Rule: A Global Collective Of 500+ Entrepreneurs
2018 - We Rule
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Women Who Inspire: Interview with John Michael Antonio
2017 - Feminine Collective
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E-Interview with Page Bloom
2021 - Page Bloom
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An Interview About Oyin's Creative Writing Process
2023 - Afrihill Press
NYU CCTOP
The Community College Transfer Opportunity Program (CCTOP) is a scholarship and assistance program for students transferring from partnership community colleges into NYU. The CCTOP was instrumental in not just to helping Oyin to get into NYU, but to graduate from NYU.
CUNY 15/30
Through the CUNY ASAP program, Oyin received support from her academic and career success advisors at Bronx Community College to plan her academic and career trajectory.