Eric Akoto

Litro · Litro USA · The Sphere Initiative · London

Eric Akoto

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Litro, Founder of Litro USA, and Founder of The Sphere Initiative.

Eric Akoto works across publishing, editorial strategy, creator rights, cultural programming, and mentoring. He founded Litro in London in 2005, later founded Litro USA, and also founded The Sphere Initiative, developing practical systems that help creators and publishers protect, verify, and manage their work.

About Litro About Litro USA
Eric Akoto
Current work

Publishing, rights, and cultural infrastructure.

At Litro, Eric oversees editorial direction, commissioning, partnerships, and long-term publishing strategy. Since 2005, Litro has grown into an international platform for fiction, poetry, essays, and translation, publishing writers from more than 80 countries across print, digital, and live programming.

He also founded Litro USA, extending the wider Litro mission through a U.S. charitable and cultural platform focused on literary programming, public benefit, and support for writers and readers. Mentoring has remained part of that work, particularly around emerging writers, editorial development, and creating stronger pathways into publication.

Under Eric Akoto’s leadership, Litro’s editorial and literary programming work has received support from Arts Council England, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Whiting Foundation.

We publish the work before the reputation arrives. That has always been the point.

Alongside Litro and Litro USA, he founded The Sphere Initiative, a rights and creator-protection venture focused on practical tools and systems for the cultural sector. His work spans editorial leadership, literary programming, mentoring, international publishing initiatives, and the development of rights-focused systems designed for real use rather than hype.

Selected focus

Areas of work

  • Editorial commissioning and publishing strategy
  • International literature and translation
  • Mentoring and literary development
  • Cultural partnerships and public programming
  • Creator rights and publishing infrastructure
  • Practical systems for independent media and publishers
Litro Litro USA The Sphere Initiative LinkedIn

This page relates to Eric Akoto, publisher, editor, mentor, and founder of Litro, Litro USA, and The Sphere Initiative, not the footballer of the same name.

Litro

A long-running editorial home.

Litro began as a London print magazine and developed into a wider editorial platform spanning weekly digital publishing, special editions, translation, and live events. Its editorial identity has always centred on serious writing, international outlook, and finding writers before the rest of the world catches up.

Over time, Litro has published established names alongside early-career writers, building an archive that is both literary and international in character.

Litro USA & Sphere

Extending the work.

Litro USA extends the Litro mission through literary and public-benefit work in the United States. The Sphere Initiative emerged from a parallel concern: creative work needs stronger systems around it, especially where rights, proof, conflict, and attribution are concerned.

Together, these platforms reflect the same underlying focus: supporting writers and creators through better editorial, cultural, and structural foundations.

For editorial, partnership, mentoring, or speaking enquiries, use the relevant contact route through Litro, Litro USA, or The Sphere Initiative.

Selected archive and press

Prizes, programmes, talks, and coverage.

Alongside current editorial and founder work, Eric Akoto’s archive includes literary prizes, public programmes, festival appearances, and third-party coverage connected to Litro’s international development over time.

A selective archive, not a complete record.