Posted in the run up to our review of the Caine Prize 2015 anthology Lusaka Punk and Other Stories, as part of a follow up series to our 2015 Blogging the Caine Prize – open to the ongoing public conversation the prize, and… Read More ›
African literature
Q&A: F.T. Kola
Recognising the critical debate that has surrounded it this year and in the past, AiW has followed the 2015 Caine Prize for African Writing by Blogging the Caine Prize again this year. Acknowledging the wider conversation, new and regular authors have shared… Read More ›
Call for Articles: African Literature Today
Call for Articles: African Literature Today Special Issue ‘African Returns in African Fiction’ This special issue will focus on literary texts by African writers in which the protagonist returns to his/her ‘original’ or ancestral ‘home’ in Africa from other parts of… Read More ›
Review: Reneilwe Malatji’s ‘Love Interrupted’ (Modjaji, 2012)
Reading Reneilwe Malatji’s Love Interrupted in the build up to women’s month in South Africa this August places the text’s significance in particular focus. Marie Claire’s #MCInHer Shoes campaign against gender based violence put male celebrities in high heels in… Read More ›
No Ordinary House: a review of E.C. Osondu’s ‘This House is Not For Sale’
‘— That house is no ordinary house. Ordinary house, indeed — […] — People say that at night you could hear voices and sometimes cries emanating from that house. Even though no one lives there anymore. — It casts a… Read More ›
Somaliland: Conversation with Nadifa Mohamed and Mary Harper
Thursday 18 June 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Book and Kitchen Join us at Book and Kitchen in Notting Hill for an evening of conversation and discussion on Somaliland with one of the country’s leading authors, Nadifa Mohamed, and journalist… Read More ›
Blogging the Caine Prize: Masande Ntshanga’s ‘Space’
Masande Ntshanga’s title invites the reader to consider multiple conceptions of space. It conjures up stories of exploration, which promise adventure, excitement and fear. At the same time, it evokes the spaces we occupy, and suggests ways of thinking, reading… Read More ›
Scolma Seminar: The Cultural Politics of Dirt in Africa
The Cultural Politics of Dirt in Africa A seminar by Professor Steph Newell (University of Sussex) June 10, 11am – 12pm Seng Tee Lee Room, Senate House Library, London As part of the Scolma Lunchtime Seminar Series 2015, Professor Steph… Read More ›
The Future of Knowledge Production: Wikithon to Improve the ‘African Literature’ Wikipedia Page
On June 4 at the upcoming African Literature Association (ALA) conference at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, Africa in Words will be hosting a ‘Wikithon’ to improve the ‘African Literature’ Wikipedia page. During a Wikithon (also often called an ‘Edit-a-thon‘), people… Read More ›
Africa Writes 2015 – Call for Volunteers (deadline Monday!)
The Royal African Society is looking for volunteers with a passion for African literature to help run Africa Writes, which returns for its fourth year running! About us Africa Writes is an annual festival organised by the Royal African Society,… Read More ›
4th African Popular Cultures Workshop at the University of Sussex: Alternative Archives
The School of English and the Sussex Africa Centre Postgraduate Committee invite you to the 4th African Popular Cultures Workshop at the University of Sussex Alternative Archives Monday 13th April 2015, 1.30pm – 7.30pm English Social Space (B274), Arts B… Read More ›
The Valentine’s Day Anthology: a snapshot of the possibilities and challenges of African publishing
February 14th 2015 marked the publication of the Valentine’s Day Anthology, a collection of short romance stories by seven leading African authors, translated and recorded in different African languages and published by Ankara Press. AiW author Emma Shercliff reflects here… Read More ›
Compelling narratives: stretching ‘memoir’ in ‘African lives’
Geoff Wisner sets himself a sizeable task in ‘African Lives’, to introduce the life-writing of the continent: I don’t envy this anthologist. His introduction makes the case for the long history of autobiographical writing in Africa. Wisner argues it needs to be rescued, to be… Read More ›
The Literature Gap in African Legal Academia
AiW Guest Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire Writing for Africa in Words in May 2014, Dustin Zacks presented a case for the inclusion of African Literature in American legal academia. The case for the inclusion of African literature, or any other literature… Read More ›
Call For Papers: RAL Journal (Deadline 15 March 2015)
RAL Special Issue on Interrogating the “Post-Nation” in African Literary Writing: Globalities and Localities Guest Editor: Madhu Krishnan What is Africa? Where is Africa written and in whose image is Africa constructed? These questions have become commonplace refrains in discussions… Read More ›
‘This is literary achievement; where is yours?’ Radio Ghana’s ‘The Singing Net’ 60 years on
Africa in Words Guest Victoria Smith: On 28th January 1955 the Ghanaian song Yaa Nom Montie played for the first time on radio as the theme music of the country’s first literary programme, Singing Net. The song’s composer, J.H. Kwabena… Read More ›
Review: ‘Africa39’ – The Anthology and the Reader
In her Editor’s Note to the recently published Africa39 anthology, Ellah Allfrey asserts, “There is no danger of ‘a single story’ here.” She is referencing, of course, Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk, in which Adichie argues that a singular narrative about any… Read More ›
A year of African literature and film – in lists
Africa in Words is taking a break from our regular content over the festive season, but we’ll be back from next week. In the meantime, it’s that time of year for best-of lists, and the African literature and arts blogosphere… Read More ›
Q&A: Felwine Sarr – Writer, musician and co-founder of Jimsaan publishing house (Dakar, Senegal)
Interview and translation by AiW Guest Ruth Bush Felwine Sarr co-founded Editions Jimsaan in 2012. His co-founders are Boubacar Boris Diop and Nafissatou Dia Diouf, both leading figures in the Senegalese cultural scene. Alongside Jimsaan, which seeks to showcase new writing… Read More ›
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s ‘Weep Not, Child’ – 50 Years On
AiW Guest Sarah Jilani This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Weep Not, Child. When the novel was originally published in 1964 by Heinemann’s African Writers Series, its author James Ngugi was a young Kenyan student at… Read More ›
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