The Accra International Book Festival has sent a word of comfort to the family of prolific Ghanaian writer, Ama Ata Aidoo.

The acclaimed novelist and playwright died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the age of 81, her family has said.

“The family of Prof Ama Ata Aidoo with deep sorrow but in the hope of the resurrection, informs the general public that our beloved relative and writer passed away in the early hours of this morning Wednesday, 31st May 2023, after a short illness,” the family head, Kwamena Essandoh Aidoo announced in a statement.

Reacting to the news in a press release, the Afro-Book Festival described the passing of the great writer as a “tragic loss to Africans and Ghanaians.”

“Professor Ama Ata Aidoo was more than a novelist and playwright to the creative community in Africa and Ghana. She was a torchbearer,” the Accra International Book Festival said.

The Accra International Book Festival noted the Ghanaian writer would be fondly remembered not only for her great books but her words of wisdom that continue to challenge Africans and Ghanaians.

“Goodnight Prof. Thank you for all that you represented to the creative community in Africa and Ghana. Your great legacies live on,” the Afro-Book Festival concluded.

Born Christina Ama Ata Aidoo on March 23, 1942, at Abeadzi Kyiakor, a suburb of Saltpond in the Central Region of Ghana.

She attended Wesley Girls’ Senior High School in Cape Coast from 1961 to 1964 and later enrolled at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Her first writing project, The Dilemma of a Ghost was released in 1964.