Mbife Books
Inclusive Books Celebrating the African Diaspora.
Mbifebooks is a small, independent publishing house registered in Sweden and The Gambia.
At Mbifebooks we strive to challenge the dominant narrative in children’s literature around beauty, joy, culture and belonging
Meet our team
Emily Joof
- Principal Author & Publisher
Emily is an African-diaspora mum with a great love for storytelling. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria to a Gambian Father and Malian-French mother and has lived in Nigeria, Belgium, France, Gambia, the UK and Sweden.
Emily is deeply inspired by her childhood as a third culture kid and her own children. She writes stories that reflect the world that she and millions of children across the globe grow up in, where difference is the norm. She blogs and is very active in the discussion around representation in children's literature in Sweden.
Emily is represented in Sweden by the Swedish Publisher Raben & Sjögren. In the US and UK Emily is represented by Jessica Craig of Craig Literary
Emily works for community organizations, NGOs and International Organizations as an Education Technical Advisor. A role that centers on inclusion and contributes in advancing and improving children’s’ rights and access to foundational literacy and numeracy in the global south. She has managed and delivered programmes targeting children, at-risk youth and marginalized communities for more than 15 years.
She is also currently a Postgraduate researcher (PhD candidate) at Lancaster university in the UK. Her research centers on the potential that Children’s Literature can have on fostering inclusions in preschools.
Emily was recently selected as a mentee in We Need Diverse Books, Black Creatives Mentorship in 2022 . She was mentored by the award winning author and educator Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow.
Sabina Hassan- Author
Sabina Hassan is registered Nurse and is currently working as a researcher. Her love for writing started as a child, later as a teenager she would often read stories in local libraries for children in the community.
Hosting story time, was key in helping Sabina realize that something was missing from those stories, so she started to write her own, and from that, her love for story telling took root.
Sabina Hassan is Somali-Ethiopian, who debuts at MbifeBooks with her picture book “Molnhåret” in the spring of 2023.
She was born in Moskva and grew up in Stockholm, Sweden.
The focus of her writing is inclusion and diversity from an swedish - east african diasporan perspective. She feels strongly about ensuring that children feel cared for and heard.
Jessica Coompson -Social Media and Marketing Associate.
Jessica is a graduate of CSU Channel Islands with a degree in Business Administration and management. She has had various leadership roles while in college, some which include: President of Black student union, Vice president of activities in student government and women of color peer mentor.
She has worked on a number of media projects, and has produced interviews, talk shows, and supported the re-launch of the mbife website.
Jessica is a Gambian - Ghanaian professional based in LA who is eager to support inclusive projects that celebrate the West African Diaspora.