Nigerian-American and based in Sweden, L?lá Ákínmádé Åkerström is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and award-winning photographer. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Sunday Times Travel, The Telegraph, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Adventure Magazine, Lonely Planet, amongst others. In addition to contributing to several books, she is the author of the following books: 2018 Lowell Thomas Award winner for best travel book, Due North, bestselling LAGOM: Swedish Secret of Living Well, available in 18 foreign language editions; and internationally-acclaimed debut novel IN EVERY MIRROR SHE'S BLACK. She has been recognized with multiple awards for her work, including being named a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine and receiving the 2018 Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award. She was honoured with a MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent) Award within media and culture in 2018 and in 2021 with a Newsweek Future of Travel Storytelling Award. She contributed to National Geographic's.
