Servio Gbadamosi is an award-winning Nigerian poet, publisher, and creative visionary whose work draws deeply from Yorùbá cosmology, African spirituality, and the lived experiences of ordinary people. His poetry has been described as ‘elegiac and visionary—an archive of cultural memory and a compass for collective healing’.
Gbadamosi’s debut poetry collection, A Tributary in Servitude, won the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize in 2015, and was a finalist for the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa. His second collection, Where the Light Enters You, was a finalist for the inaugural Pan African Writers Association’s Poetry Prize, and the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize in 2022. Through Noirledge Publishing, which he founded, Gbadamosi has championed underrepresented voices in African literature, with titles like Boom Boom and The Road Does Not End winning the prestigious Nigeria Prize for Literature.
Beyond publishing and writing, Gbadamosi is a sought-after speaker at literary festivals and cultural convenings. Through initiatives like The Poems I Love podcast, Noirledge Anthology Series, the fast-growing Ìbàdàn Book and Arts Festival (ÌbàFest), and Laipo Magazine, he continues to shape critical conversations on literature, identity, and the future of the Cultural and Creative Industries.
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS AND HONOURS
2022
• Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) Poetry Prize | Finalist
For Where the Light Enters You
2021
• Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Poetry | Finalist
For Where the Light Enters You
2018
• Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa | Finalist
For A Tributary in Servitude
2016
• Ebedi International Writers Residency Fellowship
2015
• Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Poetry | Winner
For A Tributary in Servitude
LITERARY PRIZES JUDGED
• Christopher Okigbo Poetry Prize | Judge
• Professor Gbemisola Adeoti Inter-University Prize for Poetry | Judge
READINGS, FESTIVAL APPEARANCES AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
• Ìbàdàn Book and Arts Festival
• Ìbàdàn Fan Expo: Comics and Entertainment Expo
• Ake Arts and Book Festival, Abeokuta and Lagos
• Lagos Book and Art Festival
• Benue Book and Arts Festival, Makurdi
• Muazu Babangida Aliyu International Literary Colloquium, Minna
• Niyi Osundare International Poetry Festival, Ìbàdàn and Ado-Ekiti
• Port Harcourt Literary Festival
• Quramo Literary Festival, Lagos
• WRR Literary Festival, Ibadan
• Geek Pop Up, Lagos
• Association of Nigerian Authors Conventions, Abuja
• Wetin Be AI Conference, Ibadan
• Ìbàdàn Literary Society
• American Corner, Ìbàdàn
Academic & institutional readings include Covenant University, Pan-Atlantic University, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Benue State University, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, and the Association of Nigerian Authors, Benue State Chapter.
• Guest Poet | Fifth Boao International Poetry Festival, Shanghai, China (Dec 16–19, 2022)
IN THE NEWS
• Nigerian professor, Ugandan win Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature | Premium Times (December 10, 2018)
• Arena, Ojaide, Gbadamosi shortlisted for Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature | TheCable (November 28, 2018)
• Three writers for Sept/Oct Ebedi residency | Nigerian Tribune (2018)
• Sankofa Initiative celebrates Okediran, Ehigiator | The Nation (January 18, 2017)
• ANA announces 2015 short-list | Daily Trust (October 24, 2015)
• Artmosphere Incarnates Renaissance Of Mbari Spirit, Says Osundare | The Guardian (27 June 2015)
• Gbadamosi out with debut poetry collection, A Tributary in Servitude | The Guardian (February 5, 2015)
REVIEWS
2015
• The Lament of Rage in Gbadamosi’s A Tributary in Servitude | Paul Liam
• An Ethereal Language: A Review of A Tributary in Servitude | Kelvin Kellman
• Lamentations for a Broken Land in A Tributary in Servitude | The Nicheng
• A Tributary in Servitude: A Review | Olumide Ayodele