About | Funmi Adebanjo

I write comedy, romance, and drama for television and feature film, and I am currently working on my debut romance novel. I have a commissioned romantic comedy feature in development, following star-crossed lovers in a world that celebrates food, family, and culture with a backdrop of music. My novel continues with an exploration of connection and self-discovery as a couple grapples with their perfect romance crumbling before their eyes when they question it's impact on the other areas of their lives.

Alongside storytelling, I've spent eight years in advertising and media, creating branded editorial work for major UK household names. That experience has sharpened my instinct for audience and cultural impact, and continues to inform how I think about story.

At the heart of my work is just a reminder: there is depth and darkness, yes, but joy matters. We need it, now more than ever. And the stories we tell certainly influence the level of joy in our world.

'What was your journey into writing?' I hear you ask... Well, get cozy and read all about it on my Substack.

Hi, I'm Funmi.

I am fascinated with the way popular stories shape culture and the way we see ourselves. I believe stories do not simply reflect the world we live in, they create it.

This curiosity underpins everything I write, so I'm intentional in the ways I balance the aspirational with the familiar, trying to be the change I want to see with every word I scribe.

So, I write joy.

As a British Nigerian writer, I mostly centre black characters in my stories where their emotional lives drive the narrative; actively choosing not to write stories with race-related trauma at it's core.

I often explore themes of identity, relationships, dreams, and personal growth, and I am particularly drawn to humour and romance, to the beautiful chaos of human connection, and to the ways love moulds us. My characters are flawed, searching, and deeply human, and my stories are all grounded in emotional reality.

Industry Programmes & Recognition

Workshopped alongside a group of specially selected writers through O2 GoThinkBig for a short film collaboration with O2 x SBTV (2018)

Longlisted for BBC Comedy Writers Room with my script Uni Girls (2019)

Winner of the Triforce Creative Network x Script Search Film Competition for my feature film Melanation (feature currently in development with Greenacre Films, works include Been So Long, Riches, Unsaid Stories) (2021)

Achieved a place on the CMN x Soho House Mentorship Programme (mentored by film producer Richard Holmes, credits include Calibre, Eden Lake, Jadoo) (2022)