Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬
@afrosypaella.bsky.social
810 followers 200 following 290 posts
Chronicler of Black cultural memory | Author of SELF-CARE FOR GRIEF (2021) & THE LITTLE BOOK OF SELF-HEALING (2022) | The hottest under the sun ⚡️ Website: nnekamokona.com the dead zine: thedeadzine.beehiiv.com the black alone: theblackalone.substack.com
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afrosypaella.bsky.social
#1 most read within the culture section today. Not so bad for my Guardian debut.
Reposted by Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬
taralconley.com
I’m so happy to see this article finally published! Thank you @afrosypaella.bsky.social for including me in this piece. It’s beautifully written and captures the the irony of being from Ohio where the history is rich and fraught. Thank you for being a witness ❤️
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I wrote this and put my soul into it bc it felt so deeply urgent. Thanks to @taralconley.com for speaking to me + adding her voice among many, many others as you can read. Will properly say more about this tmrw but am about to enjoy the rest of my holiday weekend & a glass of cava to celebrate! :)
theguardian.com
Who preserves the homes of Black literary giants | Nneka M Okona
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I wrote this and put my soul into it bc it felt so deeply urgent. Thanks to @taralconley.com for speaking to me + adding her voice among many, many others as you can read. Will properly say more about this tmrw but am about to enjoy the rest of my holiday weekend & a glass of cava to celebrate! :)
afrosypaella.bsky.social
The first time we talked offline I remember telling you you sounded like a Southern woman. 😭💖
afrosypaella.bsky.social
Sense has chased you all your life but you’re faster. 😭
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I'm going on a cruise next week that retails for $14K so I guess that? I'm not paying for this by the way. Travel journalist perks. :)
essencesimmone.blacksky.app
What’s the most expensive place you’ve been? I’m talking about if you add the total of the flight, accommodations, transportation, and spending money. And what time of year did you go?
afrosypaella.bsky.social
A lot of y'all are hellbent on being boring as fuck. Barely 30 and talking about your 7 p.m. bedtimes and not leaving the house after 1 p.m. I'll be 40 next year and am confused at this because I go to bed late and stay out late, too. Aging does not mean rotting at home.
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I will hate him forever and he's a coward for simply hiding on Facebook rather than standing in his misogyny.
afrosypaella.bsky.social
Sending all my love to you, Olivia. You should not have had to endure any of this at all and I'm so angry that you have.
Reposted by Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬
oliviamesser.bsky.social
Some of y’all noticed I’ve been uncharacteristically offline. This is why, and I remain on leave for a few weeks to handle a PTSD relapse. CJR was dogged in its pursuit of my story. Because of what I do and who I am, I felt that I had to answer their questions honestly.

www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...
Journalists Attest to Experiences of Sexual Misconduct with Wesley Lowery
Lowery rose to prominence as a reporter and media thinker. Women in the industry say he engaged in sexual harassment and assault.
www.cjr.org
afrosypaella.bsky.social
Sounds amazing! And thanks, Jim! :)
afrosypaella.bsky.social
Some news: this piece was selected as one of the 20 *best* pieces of food and travel writing for 2024! So honored and excited. My first anthology! 🥹
Reposted by Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬
transatlanticagcy.bsky.social
We’re thrilled to announce that Magical/Realism by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal has been nominated for the 35th Annual Reading the West Book Awards in the Memoir/Biography category!

Now it’s your turn to vote by May 31st. Winners announced June 12, 2025.
Reposted by Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬
afrosypaella.bsky.social
As you should be. Grief makes so much sense. Thinking of you.
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I really hate to hear this omg! The piece I wrote for y’all on Black grief remains foundational for me and all these years later I still get emails from readers about it. The lack of support for indie publications time and time again is so unsettling.
afrosypaella.bsky.social
That’s how I make mine! Took about an hour for the roux to get to the color I wanted.
afrosypaella.bsky.social
No shade but he sounds like he needs to go to an endocrinologist and then follow that up with weekly therapy sessions. 🫤
afrosypaella.bsky.social
I’m delighted to share that I was selected as one of @ijnr.bsky.social’s Environmental Justice grantees to write about ecological grief (e.g. climate grief) of Black communities in the South for @prismreports.org. Honored to do this work & filled with gratitude for being supported. Let’s get it! ⚡️💥
ijnr.bsky.social
Congratulations to all 33 grantees of our 2025 field reporting grants! See the winning projects here: www.ijnr.org/2025-field-r...
afrosypaella.bsky.social
It’s harder than it used to be but not hopeless. I think writers—especially those who work in media—are being called to do something different + not rely on traditional structures in the same way we used to as they’re *all* crumbling now. It’ll take creativity, innovation & grit to carry us forth.
mjerkins.bsky.social
I'm gonna be honest: If you don't have a popular newsletter, a book under contract, or a staff job at a legacy publication, I don't know how a writer can make a living right now.

So many outlets are gone and I've been holding this grief for quite some time.