The South African Book Development Council Shuts Down
The South African Book Development Council (SABDC) has been shut down. For 19 years, the organization was “committed to increasing access to books in South Africa, and to showcasing, strengthening and...
View ArticleSarah Ozo-Irabor is the New Director of the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing
Literary critic and social media influencer Sarah Ozo-Irabor is the new Director of the AKO Caine Prize for African writing. The news was announced in a press statement published yesterday. Ozo-Irabor...
View ArticleNew Manuscript Prize for African Writers Offers Cash Prize and Publishing...
South African author Karen Jennings launches The Island Prize, named after and in honor of her Booker-longlisted novel An Island. The Prize is co-administered with Holland House Books and Karavan...
View ArticleCheluchi Onyemelukwe Longlisted for the $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Breakout Nigerian star Cheluchi Onyemelukwe is among twelve writers longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize. First awarded in 1994, the annual award is named after late literary editor Doris...
View ArticleThe Life of Convicted Con Artist Popularly Known as Hushpuppi Goest to the...
The life of Nigerian influencer and convicted con artist Ramon Olorunwa Abbas is stranger than fiction. Little wonder that Nigerian media company EbonyLife Studios is making a movie about it. EbonyLife...
View ArticleUNESCO Awards Literacy Programs in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and South Africa
Literacy programs from Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt and South Africa win UNESCO-sponsored International Literacy Prizes. The awards were granted on 8 September in honor of the International Literacy Day. The...
View ArticleBritish Sierra Leonean Writer Memuna Konteh Shortlisted for the Mo...
British Sierra Leonean writer Memuna Konteh is shortlisted for the Mo Siewcharran Prize. The prize “aims to nurture talent from under-represented backgrounds writing in English.” Konteh was shortlisted...
View ArticleThe Kendeka Short Story Prize for Literature Announces Shortlist
The shortlist for the inaugural edition of the Kendeka Prize for Literature has been announced. The prize, which is run by Kenyan-based Solano Publications Ltd, awards the best piece of unpublished...
View ArticleSenegalese Author Felwine Sarr on the 2021 TIME’s 100 List for His Work on...
The Senegalese author Felwine Saar is on TIME’s 100 list for his contributions to “The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Toward a New Relational Ethics,” the groundbreaking that argues for the...
View ArticleSafia Elhilo’s Home is Not a Country on 2021 National Book Awards Longlist
Sudanese-American poet Safia Elhillo has been longlisted for the 2021 US’ National Book Award for her novel Home is Not a Country. She is nominated in the category of ‘Young People’s Literature.’ The...
View ArticleLaila Lalami’s New York Times Essay on 9/11 Questions Who’s Recognized as a...
Moroccan author Leila Lalami published a guest essay titled “The Real Meaning of ‘Never Forget’” for the New York Times’ memorial of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This years 20th anniversary of the World...
View ArticleWana Udobang Blends Food and Poetry in New Workshop
Nigerian poet and performer Wana Udobang launches a new project called Comfort Food. She shared the news in an Instagram post in which she described Comfort Food as “a workshop where we use food as a...
View ArticleMogau’s Kingdom is a South African Mobile Kids Game Promoting Reading
Kids in South Africa can now enjoy an entertaining game that also helps to improve their reading abilities. The game is called Mogau’s Kingdom. It follows many exciting adventures that Mogau undertakes...
View ArticleBrittle Paper Spotlight Presents Eniola Abdulroqeeb Arówólò
Welcome back to Brittle Paper Spotlight, a monthly series featuring emerging writers whose work have been published here on Brittle Paper. Our October Spotlight star is Nigerian poet Eniola...
View ArticleWriting Contest for Queer West African Women Announces Longlist
Earlier this year, Nigerian author Unoma Azuah announced a nonfiction writing competition for queer women from West Africa. The project was done in partnership with Women’s Initiative for Sustainable...
View ArticleOut of 495 Submissions, 11 Stories Longlisted for the Toyin Falola Prize
The Toyin Falola Prize has announced the writers longlisted for its second edition. The prize, administered by literary magazine Lunaris Review, is conferred in honor of distinguished professor of...
View ArticleThe Kendeka Short Story Prize for African Writers Announces Winners
The winners of the inaugural Kendeka Short Story Prize have been announced. They are Jenny Robson (Botswana) in first place for “Water for Wine,” and the Nigerian writers Fatima Okhousami for “The...
View Article“The Nobel Returns Home”: Wole Soyinka on Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Nobel Prize Win
The 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature has just been awarded to Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah. He is the seventh African to receive this honor. The announcement was made earlier today October 7,...
View ArticleChimamanda Adichie and Angela Merkel Talk Feminism, Politics, and Social Media
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was recently a guest speaker hosted at the Düsseldorf’s Schauspielhaus theater in September, where she sat in conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel....
View ArticleNetflix Green-lights TV Adaptation of Jordan Ifueko’s West African Mythology...
A TV adaptation of Nigerian-American writer Jordan Ifueko’s YA fantasy novel Raybearer is heading to Netflix. But that’s not the best part of the news. According to Variety, the adaptation will be led...
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