How would you stand up to scrutiny if you found yourself at the centre of a public scandal? It is a question many are preoccupied with these days, particularly since the popularisation of the term “cancel culture” in the late 2010s. Financial anxiety has fuelled a lot of my decisions,” she admits. “Because of stuff when I was growing up, I have always been really afraid of debt. I know you’re supposed to get credit cards and stuff like that, and there’s good debt, bad debt – but for me, I’ve always just seen it as bad. I’ve literally been saving since my first job when I was 15, very much with the aim of buying a house.” She’s grateful but won’t take it for granted; it’s partly why, I think, she’s prone to speaking like a brand strategist rather than a novelist. “The fiction book isn’t out yet but it’s allowed me to do things I just didn’t think were possible,” she says hurriedly. “Certainly not as a single woman in her 30s.” Slay In Your Lane: In Conversation with Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené". Glasgow Women's Library. 23 August 2018 . Retrieved 10 November 2018. Recommended Reads about Race, Racism, and Demarginalizing History - Necessary Non-fiction You Should Read for Life-changing Insights and Impact It is a world Adegoke knows well, having begun her career in journalism, sometimes covering the sorts of stories at the centre of The List, profiling people who are no strangers to the court of public opinion.

The List by Yomi Adegoke review: A novel that asks, if our The List by Yomi Adegoke review: A novel that asks, if our

Rather than lazily lulling readers into an “It’s cancel culture gone mad” trap, The List holds up a mirror to our internal biases and deeply held beliefs around a number of prejudices, forcing us to ask ourselves: if someone close to you – say, your fiancé – was accused of an act that shattered your entire sense of morality in a public forum, how far would you go to defend them? Should you, at all?I wouldn’t say bruised. It’s like putting your hand in a fire. You learn from it. I’ve healed.” We circle around times when an article of hers has gone viral for the wrong reason or there’s been a racist pile-on in the comments section, but she glosses over how much she lets it bother her. We meet in the bar of a plush Wes Andersonified hotel, set in 200 acres of green fields in deepest Croydon, where Adegoke is a founding member of its club. Dressed in a white prairie dress and wearing architectural earrings, she is glamorously post-photoshoot and pre-party. There’s an event for Central Saint Martins fashion graduates that she’ll be popping into later. The night before, I bumped into her at a book launch for a friend before she headed off to a party hosted by Mulberry. I have a friend and we both used to say that our biggest fear was being turned into memes, but now, it’s being cancelled. I thought, I’m afraid of this because I’m a public-facing writer, but now we’re all public-facing figures in a way. And in trying to be consistent, I’m quite unlike Ola—I’m unapologetically an inconsistent person. For example, I’m Nigerian and from the Yoruba tribe, and culturally, men in the Yoruba community tend to pay for things instead of women. I love that [ laughs]. I’ve never tried to frame it as a feminist practice, because it’s not. It’s like trying to put a feminist slant on misogynistic elements of hip-hop. I’m like, it is just misogynistic, but it’s okay that you still like it. That’s not to say we should embrace hypocrisy, but we should embrace being flawed people. At the moment, I feel like we’re sleepwalking into this incredibly severe mental health crisis. Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist, is marrying the love of her life in one month's time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael seem to have it all.

The List by Yomi Adegoke review – a gripping social media

I’d written the first nine chapters [of the book] before I had my first meeting with HBO,” she explains, talking me through the secretive process she underwent for months before she was allowed to tell anyone. “I thought the storyline really had TV potential, so I talked to Hayley [her agent] about it.” Topical, heartfelt, provocative and wise, Yomi Adegoke’s characters are tenderly realized . . . the entire cast of this ultimate millennial novel springs vividly to life.” — Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other Though, much like the book’s characters asking each other if they’ve seen the list, I’m even more excited for the conversations with those who have read it. As with her character Lewis? Adegoke writes him as an ageing footballer accused of rampant homophobia who turns out to be secretly gay. “Lewis was a really interesting one for me, because that is quite literally an example I’ve seen play out on more than one list where it’s complicated by sexuality 100%.”It’s true! Compared to nonfiction, where you’re transcribing and stating things more plainly, I struggled with it. I did end up having fun,” she adds, “but it took me a while.” Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, and successful—she and her fiancé Michael are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” Yomi Adegoke". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022 . Retrieved 10 November 2018.

The List by Yomi Adegoke (9780008544492/Hardback) | LoveReading The List by Yomi Adegoke (9780008544492/Hardback) | LoveReading

It’s truly no surprise that it’s being adapted for TV with Adegoke as Executive Producer. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how the TV adaptation develops the characters of Fola, Ruth, Celie and Kwabs. LoveReading exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. What began as a crowdsourced collection of names on a Google doc became an expose of the UK media's most prolific abusers, live for 24 hours on social media - and Michael is on the list. He had woken up less than an hour ago, as the newest presenter of Tasted on the first day of the rest of his life. He was now going to work as a named industry abuser. I would say I wrote it for the people who are looking for the grey areas within a very complicated and sensitive conversation. I guess when I’m writing, I am really honestly trying to change minds or speak to people I wouldn’t normally.” One morning, with weeks to go before their wedding, the couple wake up to texts and tweets about a list detailing allegation after allegation against prominent men – including Michael. For well-known feminist writer Ola, known for breaking stories about similar abuses of power, the tug between holding on to her moral compass and trusting her partner becomes all-consuming.While I think it’s always a positive thing to have more books in the canon that speak to different experiences, the writer should have the freedom to write across the spectrum.” Bizarre [laughs]. I literally never wanted to do TV again – I had a really difficult experience a couple of years ago with TV, but A24 were so encouraging and supportive and wanted me to be involved. It’s really early days now, but it’s been so exciting discussing it and making a start. I’m sure those leading roles will be really sought after. I saw that Sheila Atim and Arinzé Kene are narrating the audio book? Sitting across from me at a small round table, glass in one hand and phone in the other, she is a force of personality – charming, chatty, a whirlwind of laughter and hustle – so I don’t mind when it becomes clear that we’re only going to get through about five of my questions in the time she has. Or when she’s straining so hard not to answer directly that she runs us both around a loop of half-thoughts and non sequiturs until I agree that, yes, yes I do know what she means.

The List: The instant Sunday Times bestselling debut novel The List: The instant Sunday Times bestselling debut novel

I’d always wanted to write about whisper networks and anonymous online lists that made allegations of abuse, basically since 2017. That was when I first saw one—there were several different lists at that time that came out concurrently and affected different industries, from journalism to music. As a feminist, I was like, this is amazing and important and people are speaking truth to power. It means women can get their stories out there and protect other women, in a way that HR and the legal system often hasn’t when it comes to abuse in the workplace. Then, on the other hand, being a journalist—I used to work at Channel 4 News, so there are regulations and you’re very cautious of liability and you need the facts before you can report on something. So, I always felt really conflicted and uneasy about those lists. I thought I’d write a long read on it at first, but the issue felt a bit fraught. About a year later, I thought I’d write a play, but that didn’t really work. Then, I thought maybe if the story around it was fictionalized, it would create more fruitful conversations. There’s so much that went into this novel that might not have gone into a non-fiction piece. So, once you’d finished the book, what was it like to see it become the subject of this intense bidding war? This is a book that takes our basest emotions and looks at how we deal with them when pushed to our limits. Though the conflict may not be our own, it is a story so engaging and so relatable that readers can’t help but become emotionally invested. What follows is an erosion of relationships, trust and reputation. Ola, known for breaking similar stories of abusers in power, heartbreakingly battles between her moral compass and her love for Michael. Michael, who strongly denies the allegations, struggles to cope as his world falls apart around him.I’d like to do a Normal People-esque Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones type thing – I want to find people who’re incredible and not that famous. Sheila’s too famous and Arinzé has an MBE [laughs]. I haven’t asked yet, but I’d love to involve them in some way because they’re phenomenal, but I really want to launch two new actors, too, and then maybe get someone more established to play Frankie or their parents or something. And finally, I know you’re also working on your next novel now. What can you tell us about it? I was doing the most navel-gazing – I was on my Van Gogh shit. I painted so many self-portraits, because all I could really see was me?” I laugh, but she means it. Her paintings, she says, reveal her most natural talent. The List is, in many ways, a social media novel, and it looks at the idea of people, and women especially, feeling pressure to be “consistent” online. Why was that something you wanted to explore? Compulsively readable, wildly entertaining, and filled with sharp social insight, The List is a piercing and dazzlingly clear-sighted debut about secrets, lies, and the internet. Perfect for fans of Such a Fun Age, Luster, and My Dark Vanessa, this is a searing portrait of these modern times and our morally complicated online culture. For all her wariness around her public image, things are going extraordinarily well for Adegoke. A year before she had finished writing her book, the TV rights were bought by the powerhouse combination of HBO Max, BBC and A24. You couldn’t dream up a more prestigious production force. The making of the show is now under way with Adegoke on board as creator and executive producer. Social media is like putting your hand in a fire. You learn from it. I’ve healed.