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In other Words… AiW news and January’s wrap

By Africa in Words on 2 February , 2021 • ( 0 )

It has been a lit first month of 2021! As we move through the changed circumstances, timelines and spaces of now, we catch up on our monthly round-up of ‘other words’ we haven’t had out already on the site – news on AiW’s radar, collated from across our social media platforms…

January’s top posts and pages – #PastAndPresent

News

Click to jump to: Festivals, Salons & Conversations | Readings – Books, Journals & Mags | Performance, Visuals, Sounds | Congrats | Calls for…

Festivals, Salons & Conversations

Ikontinental’s African Book Festival 2021 live streamed for free from Leipzig and Munich on 28 and 29 January. Titled ‘Voices From the Beginning – Books Born From Songs’ the curator Kalaf Epalanga explored the entanglements of literature and music with some awesome guests, including Zukiswa Wanner, Rémy Ngamije and Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ. Catch up if you missed it via the YouTube channel.

EVENT | 2021 African Book Festival Curated by Kalaf Epalanga | Jan. 28 & Jan. 29 #ABF2021 https://t.co/zmtSRrPcQU
— InterKontinental (@iKontinental) January 27, 2021

Bakwa Books hosted a live conversation this month between TJ Benson and Howard M-B Maximus on ‘The Art of the Short Story’

Join us for an Instagram live conversation between @TJBenson_ and @howardbmaximus on "the Art of the Short Story" on @BakwaBooks' Instagram pagehttps://t.co/ClB56RBgse

Thursday, 14 January 2021. 4pm WAT. pic.twitter.com/fIRgDJoXBH
— Bakwa Books (@BakwaBooks) January 8, 2021

The African Literature Association (ALA) had a fab few lectures in January: a roundtable on ‘Teaching African Literature Remotely in the Age of Pandemic’ and an inspiring lecture by Professor Francis Nyamnjoh.

The pandemic has disrupted the workplace as we know it, and the university is not left out. In light of this, join us tomorrow for the African Literature Association's (@AfricanLitAssoc) roundtable titled "Teaching African Literature Remotely in the Age of the Pandemic". pic.twitter.com/7wMwax0EhL
— JALA (@JournalAfLit) January 14, 2021

Please join us for a lecture by Francis B. Nyamjoh (Univ. of Cape Town): “Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress: Inspiration from Chinua Achebe’s Proverbs.”

SAT, JAN 23, 2021: 11am EST, 4pm London, 5pm Lagos, 6pm Johannesburg, 7pm Nairobi, 10pm New Delhi pic.twitter.com/2BB4ovrs57
— AfLit Association (@AfricanLitAssoc) January 17, 2021

Africa Writes Exeter Book Club ran the second event in their series with the amazing Maaza Mengiste.

"She does not want to remember but she is here and memory is gathering bones." – from #TheShadowKing.

Catch @MaazaMengiste in conversation with @ndinda_ (of @jaladaafrica) on Tues 26 Jan at 16:00 GMT for online #AfricaWritesExeter book club. Tix: https://t.co/T9Oh0pQIBC ✨ pic.twitter.com/gTAPT3N40m
— Africa Writes (@AfricaWritesUK) January 22, 2021

Baobab Book Club hosted Niq Mhlongo in conversation about the fantastic collection Joburg Noir.

pic.twitter.com/iIAl5L2sE0
— Niq Mhlongo (@NiqMhlongo) January 22, 2021

Readings – Books, Journals & Mags

The 31st edition of The Shallow Tales Review literary magazine was released at the end of the month. Check out the cover!

The Shallow Tales Review literary magazine is glad to announce the cover photo for its 31st issue to be released on January 31, 2021.

Guest edited by Temani Nkalolang (Botswana). pic.twitter.com/SmPq2E6sRZ
— The Shallow Tales Review (@ShallowTales) January 25, 2021

Jacana Media had a fun Book Hamper Give Away competition in January.

🗣️BOOK HAMPER GIVEAWAY
If you're one of our 10 000+ Twitter followers, this 10-title book hamper giveaway is for you!👇🏾📚

Click on the link and fill in your details to be eligible to win the hamper. The winner will be announced on Monday 25 January 2021.https://t.co/ZQcHbTtkUI pic.twitter.com/SnkKCLKVFM
— FB: Jacana Media (@JacanaMedia) January 21, 2021

Exciting book news from Writivism this month:

OUT NOW – And Morning Will Come: The 2017 Writivism Anthology

In Paperback and Kindle: https://t.co/3rEHq6E3CD

Featuring @rafeeeeta, Tariro Ndoro and @Gwladys_Lebouda. pic.twitter.com/cx1zv8kqbQ
— Writivism Interlude (@Writivism) January 6, 2021

Performance, Visuals, Sounds

Books & Rhymes’ virtual ‘Lit Avengers Salon’, a monthly literary meeting for book lovers launched in January! Find out more about “Lit Avengers Salon” via the mailchimp page here.

Also do not miss the new episodes of Books & Rhymes podcast:

🚨 Issa new season 🚨

Our first guest: THE Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi discuss:

📖 The challenges of de-centreing white gaze in (African) literature
📖 Why writers must invest in good editors
📖 Being read in Continental Africa & more

Listen 👇🏾https://t.co/dne7jJNnUD pic.twitter.com/8nXhL6yhnV
— Books & Rhymes: The Podcast (@BooksAndRhymes) January 12, 2021

The Radioactive Poetry Cafe is back, and this year the show is online. They have a number of great poets lined up, so make sure to tune in on the Facebook page.

Congrats

Huge congratulations to Tsitsi Dangarembga who was awarded the 2021 PEN Award for Freedom of Expression earlier in January.

Tsitsi Dangarembga was awarded the 2021 PEN Award for Freedom of Expression earlier this week — a well-deserved honor.https://t.co/MBhnZKzksj
— BRITTLE PAPER (@brittlepaper) January 15, 2021

Calls for….

January saw a wonderful number of calls:

Call for Entries for the 2021 Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award & Anthology

The Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) is pleased to announce that submissions for the 10th annual Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award and Anthology are now open.
— FB: Jacana Media (@JacanaMedia) January 11, 2021

Hey Rwandan writers! @TeaHouseMag is accepting submissions of essays and short stories (2,000 – 5,000 words) as well as poems on any theme. Send in your work!https://t.co/RKxC2aHNvK
— BRITTLE PAPER (@brittlepaper) January 21, 2021

Calling for proposals for (𝘜𝘯)𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 public arts festival 2021!

This year’s (𝘜𝘯)𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 will have a particular thematic focus on the psychological & social impacts of COVID-19.

To apply go to: https://t.co/8Mc7KDr9i3 pic.twitter.com/Ssq3HKIYaa
— GIPCA_ICA (@GIPCA_ICA) January 26, 2021

Durban FilmMart (DFM) are still open for features and documentary submissions.

👇👇👇https://t.co/laV0gIyNMn

DEADLINE: 21 Feb 2021. pic.twitter.com/5xrPhBzTeL
— Durban International Film Festival (@DIFFest) January 26, 2021

Let's Create Chaos!

Call For Submissions Agbowó Mag 2021https://t.co/hCYM6x6w0N #Agbowó #AgbowóMagazine #2021 #CallForSubmissions pic.twitter.com/zRUwn7xO53
— Agbowó (@agbowoart) January 21, 2021

Last but certainly not least, Lunaris Review’s very exciting call for submissions on the theme Africanfuturism for the 2021 Toyin Falola Prize:

"We look toward stories speculating and extrapolating African past, present, and future. We are particularly concerned with how Africanfutures can be creatively (re)imagined."#toyinfalolaprize #africanliterature #literaryprize pic.twitter.com/OBJZGSqgFK
— LUNARIS (@L_U_N_A_R_I_S) December 29, 2020

Thank you all for reading, and for being here with us! As ever, if there’s anything you’d like to see featured on the site, don’t hesitate to get in touch. With wishes for continuing health and safety, and creative power to you as we head into the second month of 2021…