Hello and Welcome

Bio

Ruby Yayra Goka has always loved stories and storytelling. For a long time, the only person who “benefitted” from her great love of writing and storytelling, was her younger brother, Julius. Every day after school, he was made to watch a performance of a story Ruby made up. The cast of characters were usually her dolls, stuffed animals and her cat, Katie.

Thankfully for Julius, as Ruby got older she preferred reading to putting up productions. This love of reading and telling stories was what led her into writing many years later.

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     Her first published book for young children, The Mystery of the Haunted House, won third prize in the Burt Award for African Literature competition in 2010. The Burt Award for African Literature is an award which recognizes excellence in African writing for young adults. A year later she published two more books, Disfigured and In the Middle of Nowhere.

Her books for young adults, The Lost Royal Treasure, When the Shackles Fall, Perfectly Imperfect, Plain Yellow and The Step-monster, have all won awards in the same competition from the year 2011 to 2015. Those Who Wait was given an honourable mention in the same competition in the year 2012.

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     Her other books for children include A Gift for Fafa and Tani’s Wish. Tani’s Wish was written for the Ghana Cleft Foundation to create awareness about Cleft lips and palates and to reduce the stigmatization associated with the condition. 

Ruby believes that the more African children see themselves reflected in the pages of books they read, the more they will realize they and their stories matter.

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     When she isn’t spending time with her dog and turtle, Ruby will be found either reading,  gardening or holding conversations with her imaginary friends.