Toni Kan

Toni Kan (born Anthony Kan Onwordi; 11 June 1971) is a Nigerian writer, editor, public relations executive, and teacher. He is the author of Nights of the Creaking Bed, The Carnivorous City, Ballad of Rage, and several poetry collections. He won the NDDC/Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Literature in 2009. Quotes "Life is my biggest inspiration, followed by Lagos, which is my garden of ideas. I would atrophy as a writer if I left Lagos. The city is one huge, seething cesspit of stories." On what inspires his writing. Bloggers Are Destroying Nigerian Literature, Daily Trust, 16 February 2014. "I always feel like writing stories. That's what I do for a living and it doesn't matter what genre." Responding to whether he still enjoys writing romance stories. Bloggers Are Destroying Nigerian Literature, Daily Trust, 16 February 2014. "The place you see in the morning is not the place you see every night—it could be a den of robbers at night. That's what I am trying to capture in the book—to show the many facets that make up Lagos." Explaining the inspiration behind The Carnivorous City. Toni Kan: This is the Age of the Writer, The Sun Nigeria, 27 January 2018. "I think the person is mad, because every human being changes every day, and the city changes faster than that." Responding to the claim that there is nothing new to write about Lagos. Toni Kan: This is the Age of the Writer, The Sun Nigeria, 27 January 2018. "I wanted a situation where the book could be used as a map to walk through the city of Lagos." On his goal while writing The Carnivorous City. I Wanted the Book as Map to Walk You Through the City of Lagos, The Guardian (Nigeria), 26 April 2017. "My biggest motivation for writing is to make people cry." Discussing the emotional impact he hopes his fiction has on readers. My Biggest Motivation for Writing Is to Make People Cry, Nigerian Tribune, 18 December 2016. "I am a compulsive reader... if I am not reading a novel on my phone, I am reading an article on politics or literature or other books." Speaking about his lifelong reading habit. Tony Kan: I Can't Stay a Day Without Reading, The Sun Nigeria, 29 July 2022. External links Category:Living people Category:Nigerian writers