🗣️🗣️My guest for Episode 12 📣📣
The bestest writer and my bonfide AYANNA LLOYD BANWO ❤️
In the final episode of 'I Do What I Do,' I talk to my bonafide (most would call her my bestie, but bonafide is deeper than that), Ayanna Lloyd Banwo aka Yanns (for me). Yanns is one of the best writers out of our island, and we talk like we always do, with heart, truth, inside moments, and connection. We talk about Ayanna's journey from her storytelling roots in Trinidad (our home) to becoming an multi-award winning published author, based in England. Her debut novel 'When We Were Birds,' Ayanna shares the inspirations that fuelled her writing - her rich family history and experiences. We explore themes of creative inheritance, the nuances of the publishing industry, and the significance of finding one's community, splashed with our childhood memories and the challenges faced in her career. As always, “I Do What I Do”, treats our listeners to an intimate portrait of one of my friends - of resilience, creativity, and the power of storytelling.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Hello!
00:49 Meet Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
01:12 Childhood Memories and Friendship
02:54 Rum, Sneakers, and Writing
05:00 The Journey of 'When We Were Birds'
07:54 The Creative Process and Inspirations
12:17 Audiobooks vs. Traditional Reading
15:34 Family Influence and Storytelling
37:17 Navigating Success and Recognition
44:17 Navigating the Narrative
44:43 The Role of Catharsis in Writing
45:11 Inheritance and Inspiration
46:30 Dreams and Symbolism
47:41 Balancing Messages and Stories
48:11 Phases of Life and Love
49:28 Planning and Surprises
55:46 The Writing Journey
01:01:58 Advice for Aspiring Writers
01:12:34 Challenges in the Publishing Industry
01:17:06 Lipton Tea Time
01:26:36 Thank you to all my guests on my first season of “I Do What I Do”.
MEET 👋🏾 AYANNA LLOYD BANWO a writer from Trinidad and Tobago. Her debut novel When We Were Birds (LOVED IT!!) was the 2023 winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award, theGoldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, and the American Book Award; shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize, the McKitterick Prize and named one of the UKObserver’s Best Debuts and The Economist’s Best Books of 2022. Her short fiction and non-fiction have been published in Moko Magazine, Small Axe and PREE, among others and shortlisted for the Small Axe Literary Competition and the Wasafiri New Writing Prize. She is the 2023 winner of the Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer’s Award and has been named one of one of ten Rising Stars in UK Writing by The National Centre for Writing and The British Council. Mostly importantly, she is my bonafide and my always friend. I can’t wait for her 2nd novel.
CONNECT w/ Ayanna 🤝🏾🤝
@ayalloydbanwo (Instagram)
WE TALKED
💎 Our fathers influence
💎 Audiobook love
💎 Bad Caribbean accents
💎 How your family raises you
💎 The writing process
💎 Love Island - the Real Great Britain
💎 What are you given to walk through this world.
💎 It’s not an ad (but it is an ad) for Norwich
CHECK OUT
🔎 Ramajay & all other Trini patois words
Conversations with extraordinary ordinary people about what they do, how they do and why they do.
❤️
#IDoWhatIDoPod #WhatIsMustIs #CreativeLeaders #SquigglyCareers #ForgeYourOwnPath #PositiveImpact #Creative #Learner #Entrepreneur #Technology #FollowYourJoy #Create #Intention #Artist
