Under The Light

Franka-Maria Andoh was born in Accra.
She started writing Christmas plays with her Dad's old typewriter aged 8 and took a long break from writing until 2004 when she was selected to be part of the Crossing Borders Programme organised by the British Council. Franka has under her belt several children's books, Koku the Cockerel, Dokono the Donkey, Yum Yum the Bully Boy, The Kente Curtain, The Kente Dress, Kumasi to London and Dear Kweku.
With a grant from the Danish Cultural Fund, Franka self-published a collection of short stories titled I Have Time and Other Short Stories.
This won the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW), Ama Ata Aidoo Short Story Award. She also published a collection of essays celebrating ten years in the café business titled Still Passionate About Coffee. Her short story 'Mansa' was featured in the Caine African Writers anthology and translated into Spanish. In 2021 her touching short story Twin Butterflies was accepted into the Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing's anthology called 'Lockdown'. Her handbook Having a Period - Not a Little Girl Anymore won the FAWE National Award. Franka's gift of creative non-fiction saw her co-author the book Sam with Mr Sam Okudzeto.
She recently completed a writing course with the University of Iowa and had her 'Dear Daughter' letter accepted by the BBC. She's mom to Marisa-Clare Amissah Andoh.
A creative, multitalented individual, Franka is a restaurateur. She is the CEO and Founder of Josie's Cuppa Cappuccino named in 2015 by Ventures Africa as one of the 'Leading cafes in Africa'.