Anna Nyakana: Making Cultural Shifts and Representation A Readable Reality

There is something to be said about the power of representation. After all, how do we bring ourselves to relate, connect, and find ourselves in others if we don’t have others that remind us that we have a place in this huge world we live in? While representation was (and is) a reality for some, it is not for many and was not for award-winning and bestselling Author, Motivational Speaker, and Business Owner, Anna Nyakana.

Born in Berlin, Germany to a Ugandan father and German-Moldavian mother, the world allowed Anna to feel the pressure of being different. Her family immigrated to the United States in the early ’90s, settling in Stamford, Connecticut, where at the age of six, she began writing and became passionate about music. By the time she was a teenager, she was had become proficient in writing music and performing live, releasing her debut album, Anna Nyakana, in 2007.

After graduating high school, Anna went on to attend college, graduating with a degree in Business in 2011. Soon after graduating, she published her first literary work, “The Student Survival Guide to Online College” to help other students through their online academic journey. While Anna was helping college students survive college, her passion was to help children – particularly ones that were not accurately represented.

Through her own personal experience as a child learning English as a second language, she realized there were not enough multicultural children’s books that represented the minority. The desire to change the narrative, she wanted to help children, and from her love of writing, she birthed the Niyah Zuri series. This literary work became the greatest literary work Anna Nyakana would publish.

“Niyah Zuri and The Pharaoh’s Throne” hails as a time-bending exploration of ancient lands lead by the headstrong Niyah Zuri and her best friends, Miguel and Hugo Gonzales. They time-jump throughout history. Readers build their vocabulary while being exposed to world culture and are empowered by seeing characters of color in the forefront. Moreover, young girls learn that they do not have to play a damsel in distress role and can be the heroes in their own stories. This chapter book in the series is geared towards upper elementary through lower middle school readers and comes equipped with a full glossary and free online resources for parents and teachers to guide their children or students through the story.

Anna Nyakana understood the value of representation stressed the importance of diversity in the classroom. She holds the belief that “It is critical children see a reflection of themselves in the books that they read, and her mission is to inspire them, one adventure at a time” through Niyah Zuri’s eyes.

“Niyah Zuri and The Pharaoh’s Throne” was re-released in June 2020 as a second edition on her own book imprint Niyah Zuri Books, which hit #1 in 7 children’s categories. Anna is currently completing the next book in the series “Niyah Zuri and The Mayan Eclipse” set to be released in March 2021. Moreover, she is currently pitching “Adventures with Niyah Zuri” to networks, which is a cartoon based on the book series. It will be visually striking and educational, so kids can enjoy it both at home and in the classroom while building their vocabulary and knowledge through world adventures.

Anna is not only writing books; she is creating a movement through her books. She is intentionally shifting the representative view of the world through literature by creating characters that go against the norm of what society sees. What a generation we could create if we only empowered our youth to know their value through exposure to their rich history versus the suppression of indoctrination.

Niyah Zuri means beautiful purpose and Anna wants to utilize all these elements combined with the motivation to encourage the youth to live purposefully in their paths!

Follow Anna Nyakana on all social media platforms @Niyah_Zuri