Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is a Nigerian-born, Stockholm-based author, travel photographer, and visual storyteller whose work spans more than 80 countries. Akinmade Åkerström worked for 12 years as a GIS developer before transitioning to professional photography and storytelling. Her work centers on culture, tradition, and lifestyle, with writing described as raw, real, and transparent, and photography characterized by contrast, joy, and hope.

Akinmade Åkerström's photography and writing have appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, New York Times, Slate, Travel Channel, Adventure.com Magazine, The Sunday Times, AFAR, Lonely Planet, and Fodor's. Her photography is part of the National Geographic Image Collection, and she is a member of Women Photograph and Wonderful Machine. She owns and operates Geotraveler Media, a multimedia and travel consulting agency that offers a range of travel media services, including an online academy. Akinmade Åkerström also serves as editor-in-chief of Slow Travel Stockholm, an editorial site encouraging travelers to explore Stockholm in depth and at a slower pace.

Her literary work includes travel writing, lifestyle, and fiction. Akinmade Åkerström is the author of the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel book "Due North," the international bestseller "Lagom: Swedish Secret of Living Well," and the novel "In Every Mirror She's Black." "In Every Mirror She's Black" has been recognized as a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, Apple Editors' Pick, Amazon Editors' Pick, and was shortlisted for the Bad Form Review Book of the Year. Her follow-up novel, "Everything Is Not Enough," is an NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literature and has been selected as a Jennette McCurdy Book Club Pick, as well as an Editors' Pick by Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Amazon.

Akinmade Åkerström's accolades span both photography and writing. She has been featured on Condé Nast Traveler Women Who Travel Power List, named among the Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse, and recognized as a Hasselblad Heroine. She has received the MIPAD 100 Award within media and culture and the Newsweek Future of Travel Award in Storytelling. Her work has earned multiple awards and nominations, including a Pushcart Prize nomination.

In addition to her creative pursuits, Akinmade Åkerström is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of storytellers. Through her online Geotraveler Media Academy, she focuses on visual storytelling and supporting emerging travel storytellers. Her commitment to increasing the visibility of Black women in travel photography has established her as a leader in the field. As a keynote speaker, Akinmade Åkerström shares her experiences and insights at major industry events, offering perspectives on travel, storytelling, and entrepreneurship.