This week, Atlanta Film and TV interviewed child author Nicholas Buamah. At seven-years-old, Nicholas wrote his first book, Kayla & Kyle Election Day, Vol. 1. He has also made appearances on shows such as The Steve Harvey Show and has been honored by Whooppi Goldberg on The View for being accepted into the Library of Congress.
Atlanta Film and TV: You developed your love for reading at three-years-old. How did you develop that love at such a young age?
Nicholas Buamah: I developed a love for reading at age three when I opened a book my mom came into the room and noticed that I thought the words in the book were pretty cool. That’s when my mom thought it would be a great idea to teach me what the words in the
book were.
Atlanta Film and TV: How did you know that you wanted to write books?
Nicholas Buamah: I knew I wanted to write books when I noticed that a lot of people were impressed with my vocabulary. When I spoke to my friends, a lot of times they even didn’t understand what I was saying to them. So, I thought it would be a great idea to put the words I was using into a book.
Atlanta Film and TV: Tell us about your work with your non-profit Books Without Borders, Inc.
Nicholas Buamah: Books Without Borders, inc. is a non-profit where I and a few other child authors take the books we’ve written to Ghana, to give to their schools and libraries. Currently, I plan to take some computers and make a computer lab and also build libraries.
Atlanta Film and TV: You’ve accomplished more than your average nine-year-old, could you share with us what’s next for you? More books? Grow your non-profit?
Nicholas Buamah: My next goal is to have a bunch of libraries and computer labs, throughout the continent of Africa. And, currently, I am working on completing my next book, A Puppy Surprise.
Atlanta Film and TV: How did you find someone to illustrate your books?
Nicholas Buamah: My mom and I usually search for an illustrator online using Upwork. And, if we like their illustrations, we’ll reach out to them about doing the illustrations for my books.
Atlanta Film and TV: You’ve written two children’s books. What inspired you to write them?
Nicholas Buamah: Both my mother and my teacher Ms. Mary Fisher was the one who inspired me to write children’s books. My teacher was impressed with my vocabulary and she sent a message on our Class Dojo to my mom about how she thought it would be a good idea for me to write a children’s book.
Atlanta Film and TV: Could you tell us more about the app you created?
Nicholas Buamah: The app I created is an augmented reality app, and it’ll read my book, Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries to you. If someone reads the book, and they don’t know what a specific word is in the book, the app has the capability to tell you what the word is. And, if you hover over one of the pictures in the book, then the characters will move.
Atlanta Film and TV: Can you share with us about your experience with Steve Harvey?
Nicholas Buamah: I was excited about being flown out to California, but, the night that I had to go onto The Steve Harvey Show, I was very nervous. This was only because I knew that Steve Harvey had a bunch of followers and I didn’t want any of his followers to say anything negative. But, once Steve Harvey began asking me questions, that’s when I got comfortable.
Atlanta Film and TV: What’s one piece of advice you have for our readers?
Nicholas Buamah: You’re never too young to dream big. I believe that people should go for whatever they want to do or be.
You can follow Nicholas on Instagram @nicholasbuamah and @kaylaandkyletwd
For more information on Nicholas, be sure to check out his website and check out his 30 second word on his Youtube channel.