Idia of the Benin Kingdom

About the Webinar

This Children's Africana Book Award Webinar, part of the Global Read Webinar Series, took place on February 3, 2022 at 7 pm EST with a presentation by Ekiuwa Aire, author of Idia of the Benin Kingdom.

About the Book

Idia of the Benin Kingdom, authored by Ekiuwa Aire & illustrated by Alina Shabelnyk, introduces the life of Queen Idia of the ancient kingdom of Benin (located in present-day Nigeria). Queen Idia played an important role during the reign of her son who ruled Benin from 1504-1550. This story tells of a young Idia who pursued her dreams, believed in herself, and became the first Queen Mother of Benin. 

About the Author

Ekiuwa Aire was born and raised in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria. She moved to England when she was nine and it was here, away from all she had grown up with, that she discovered her passion for writing. Ekiuwa co-wrote her first book while finishing high school and continued developing her craft while earning a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Business Administration. She is passionate about African history and incorporates the richness of many cultures into her books. When she encountered difficulty finding a publisher for Idia she self-published. The picture book is a 2021 CABA Best Book.

Watch the Webinar

About the Global Read Webinar Series

Once a month, the World Area Book Awards (Américas Award, Children's Africana Book Award, Freeman Book Award, Middle East Book Award, and the South Asia Book Award) sponsor a 60 minute webinar on a book recognized by one of the awards. The series of webinars is called Global Read Webinar Series. Each webinar features a presentation by an award-winning author with discussion on how to incorporate multicultural literature into the classroom. All sessions are free and open to the public. 

The Children's Africana Book Awards is sponsored by the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association. The Center for African Studies at Howard University is the institutional base for the Awards.