I AM A UK-BASED AUTHOR, designer, broadcaster and voiceover artist. I am one of eight children born in London to Nigerian immigrants who settled there in 1961. My father, Isola, was a writer, publisher and filmmaker, while my mother, Ade, was a nurse and mid-wife. My grandfather was the tribal leader of Owu in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, from 1949 to 1972. He was one of the dignitaries who met Queen Elizabeth during her 1956 Commonwealth tour of Nigeria.

My family’s surname, ‘Arogundade’, (arrow-goon-da-day) after which this site is named, dates back to the battlegrounds of ancient Nigeria. It refers to a king, or ‘oba’, who dons his crown in readiness for battle. It originates with the Yoruba — a tribe of over 30 million members, mostly concentrated in the Southwest of the country. There are also many citizens of Yoruba descent spread throughout the US, the UK, the West Indies and Brazil. Yorubas have a reputation for creativity, and professional artists date back over a thousand years.

AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL I trained as an architect at London’s South Bank University. Soon after qualification I branched out into publishing, launching ‘Extract’, a cult style magazine about the lives of non-celebrities. Following this I worked as a freelance graphic designer, journalist and copywriter, winning two advertising industry awards. I have written for a range of publications, including ‘The Times’, ‘The Telegraph’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Evening Standard’, ‘Elle’, ‘Marie Claire’ and ‘Creative Review’.

My first book, 'Black Beauty’, was an illustrated exploration of society's historical perceptions of the black image. It was honoured by the New York Public Library and turned into a three-part BBC documentary. In 2004 I joined start-up luxury book publisher, Gloria, as creative director. During my tenure I created four super-sized limited editions — ‘Pelé’, ‘Superyacht’, ‘Scarfe On The Wall’ and ‘New York’.

After this I developed a television screenplay with Hollywood actor Laurence Fishburne, who then championed my debut novel, ‘The Sexual Language Of Strangers’. In 2016 I launched my own company specialising in books and apps. 365 Positivity aggregates health and wellbeing information into a series of self-help apps, while my publishing imprint, White Labels Books, creates print-on-demand, direct-to-consumer fiction and non-fiction. 

Alongside, I also work as BBC radio broadcaster as well as a voiceover artist. I have voiced books by a diverse range of authors, including Charles Darwin, George Orwell and Bernadine Evaristo.

In 2020 I wrote My Terrifying, Shocking, Humiliating, Amazing Adventures in Online Dating, a self-help guide to dating apps, which is currently being adapted for television by Channel 4. My latest book, Hollywood Blackout, is out in February 2025. See below for further details.

MY LATEST BOOKS