Tomi Adeyemi Cancels New York Comic Con Appearance as Her Feud With the Children of Blood and Bone Film Continues

Bestselling author Tomi Adeyemi has cancelled another public appearance amid her increasingly public fallout with the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone. This time, she withdrew from New York Comic Con, where she was scheduled to promote her latest novel, The Siren.

According to Variety, Adeyemi cancelled her October 10 appearance back in September. However, neither the author nor convention organisers publicly announced the cancellation ahead of the scheduled event.

Variety reports that Adeyemi had been scheduled to appear at the Javits Center at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. A source confirmed that she cancelled the panel the previous month and organisers subsequently removed it from their programme. Representatives for Adeyemi, CAA and publisher Macmillan had not responded to requests for comment when the report was published.  

Interestingly, Children of Blood and Bone had a separate film panel scheduled for the same day. Given Adeyemi’s very public rejection of the adaptation, the timing has understandably raised eyebrows. However, there is no evidence that the film panel prompted her cancellation.

And the situation becomes even more interesting when you consider what director Gina Prince-Bythewood recently told ELLE.

Adeyemi previously described leaving the film’s set hyperventilating and crying, claiming she continued facing antagonism behind the scenes. She has since declared that she will not watch the finished film.

Prince-Bythewood, however, remembers their collaboration differently. Speaking to ELLE, the director described the adaptation process as beautiful. She explained that Adeyemi contributed to the screenplay, offered valuable feedback and appeared enthusiastic about the production’s creative direction while visiting the set.  

That is quite a contrast. Obviously, two people can experience the same production differently. But Adeyemi has yet to publicly explain the specific incidents behind her accusations, leaving everyone else trying to understand what actually happened.

And this isn’t the first time her public accusations have attracted controversy.

In 2018, Adeyemi accused bestselling novelist Nora Roberts of capitalising on her debut novel’s title because Roberts was publishing Of Blood and Bone. Roberts subsequently explained that the titles were developed independently, and Adeyemi apologised.  

That history makes her latest dispute particularly difficult to ignore. Adeyemi is entitled to criticise Hollywood and defend her work. Authors frequently lose creative control when their books become films, and those disagreements deserve serious consideration.

But publicly distancing yourself from a production featuring Thuso Mbedu, Viola Davis, Regina King and an acclaimed Black female director, without clearly explaining what went wrong, inevitably invites scrutiny.

At some point, the question becomes whether the problem is entirely Hollywood or whether Adeyemi’s approach to professional disagreements also deserves examination.

Children of Blood and Bone arrives in cinemas on January 15, 2027.