Adiela Akoo is a multifaceted South African poet and author whose work delves into themes of identity, resilience, hope, healing, and the intricacies of the human experience.

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She is a literary advocate and founding editor of The Quilled Ink Review literary journal curating established and acclaimed voices alongside promising new ones. She is also founder and director of Quilled Ink Press.

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‘Lost in a Quatrain’, Adiela's deep, soulful, debut memoir, described as 'one woman's voice that speaks for so many', touches on her experiences as a woman and as a person of colour growing up in the old South Africa. Consisting of a collection of poems written over an 18-year period, the book was First Runner-Up in the South African Independent Publisher Awards 2021 and garnered her a nomination as one of the 'Top 7 Most Promising Literary Influencers' at the Global Book Community Awards 2020. An excerpt from "Lost in a Quatrain", the poem 'Whiplash', was quoted in the South African House of Parliament. ‘Pre Natal’ was nominated 'Poem of the Day’ on the massive poetry platform, PoemHunter. 'Within' received a Certificate of Excellence from the Everychild Lifeline Foundation International Literary Awards & Demo Gog. She received the Silver Star Award from the Global Literary Society for 'excellent contribution to world literature'.

 

Born on the 4th of May in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Adiela was mostly raised and educated in the neighbouring city of Durban, where she also received the prestigious Dux Award. Apart from writing, she has a background in banking and comprehensive healing. She was included in the Best Emerging Poets of 2019 series; the Best New African Poets of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2034, and 2025 series; has won poetry contests; and been published in a variety of journals and anthologies across the world. Her poems, quotes, and books have appeared in translation in a number of different languages including Bangla (in a Sufi Magazine alongside Rumi), Bulgarian, Croatian, Estonian, Odia/Oriya, Portuguese (in Brazil), Romanian, Turkish, and others.

 

Adiela has been commissioned to represent the Durban UNESCO City of Literature, and has participated in poetry readings at literary festivals like The Madibaland World Literary Festival, The Alan Paton Literary Festival, etc. She is the recipient of Fellowships to the Bologna Childrens Book Fair, Italy; Piu Libri Piu Liberi in Rome; SIBF-PC in the UAE; Chennai International Book Fair, India; and Istanbul. She has also served as a judge at the Zee TV Miss India South Africa International Pageant. As an ambassador of literacy, she volunteered her time in the position of Vice-Chair of The Literacy Association of South Africa (LITASA), KZN Chapter - this served as a catalyst to her becoming a children's book author.​​

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Adiela is married to a medical doctor and they have three children, a son and two daughters. In her spare time she loves creating art and crafts using mixed media, watching movies, playing scrabble and chess, creating in the kitchen, or chatting to the birds out in the garden, among other things. She has often been adopted by stray cats.​