JJ Bola

JJ Bola is a Writer, Poet, and Educator, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and raised in London. His debut novel, No Place to Call Home (2017), tells the story of a Congolese family seeking asylum in the UK, exploring themes of displacement, belonging, and identity. It examines how refugee communities form, adapt, and survive in unfamiliar spaces. Reflecting on his own experience, Bola describes himself as: “I am a refugee with a British passport.”

Since 2017, Bola has been an ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) using his platform to amplify refugee voices. He has spoken at global forums, including the World Economic Forum and in discussions with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett.

In his TED Talk, Reaching for a Place to Call Home, he shares his powerful journey as a refugee and explores themes of displacement, identity, and belonging. His poetry collection, Refuge—featuring Elevate, Daughter of the Sun, and WORD—was honored during Refugee Week 2018 and read in the British House of Commons.

Bola’s work, including appearances at the World Economic Forum and discussions with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett, highlights refugee resilience and identity, fostering empathy and global solidarity—critical themes for advancing refugee and immigrant health.

His second novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing, was published in 2021 in the U.K. by Dialogue Books (Hachette), and in the U.S/North America in 2022 by Atria Books (Simon & Schuster). It has also been translated into Brazilian-Portuguese as O Involuntário Ato De Respirar with Dublinese, and Weiter Atmen (Keep Breathing) in German with Kampa Verlag. Other translations to come include Italian, Japanese and more. The Selfless Act of Breathing has also been acquired for film adaption.

JJ Bola has written the non-fiction book, Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined, published in 2019 by Pluto Press. This has also been translated and published into other languages, including German as Sei Kein Mann with Hanser Blau, in Italian as Giu La Maschera with Edizioni EL, in Brazilian-Portuguese as Seja Homem by Dublinese, in Spanish as Un Baile de Mascaras by Paidos, and in Finnish as Naami-Otta with Schildts & Soderstrom. JJ Bola also has three previous poetry collections, Elevate (2012), Daughter of the Sun (2014), and WORD (2015) – all of which were published in a definitive called Refuge (2018).

JJ Bola also has a children’s picture book called Fly Boy, published in 2023 (Simon & Schuster), which a story about a young boy learning to manage his emotions so that he can fly.

JJ Bola has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University. JJ Bola also works as a Mental Health Social Worker, in a community mental health team, after qualifying through the Think Ahead accelerated training programme.

JJ Bola is based in London, but often travels across the UK, and internationally, for workshops, lectures, and talks. He is passionate about empowering people to transform their lives. And loves basketball, and carrot cake. He is currently working on his third novel.