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● Lifestyle ● Essays, Stories and Poems ● Interviews ● Eat the Book ● Events ● Opportunities
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Hello, Dear Reader*:
Here is to your February and all those splashes of love! And, there was a good dose of those here. This roundup brings all that February offered and much more. The "Opportunities" section is updated as usual and the "News" section features current, interesting developments in the African literary scene. Quite a number of submissions came in too!
Thank you and happy reading!
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New-Generation African Poets Chapbook (Nane), Available for Preorder
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Poetry lovers! This one’s for you.
Akashic Books is releasing a new chapbook box set, New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Nane). This is a fourteen-piece, limited-edition box set that features the work of thirteen new African poets.
The box set, according to the publisher, is “a project started in 2014 to ensure the publication of up to a dozen chapbooks every year by African poets through Akashic Books. The series seeks to identify the best poetry written by African poets working today, and it is especially interested in featuring poets who have not yet published their first full-length book of poetry.”
The series is edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. Previous box sets include New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Saba) (2020), New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Sita) (2019), New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Tano) (2018), New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Nne) (2017), and New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Tatu) (2016).
As with these previous box sets, the thirteen writers featured in New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Nane) come from all parts of the continent. They are Selina Nwulu, Ayan M. Omar, Jeremy Teddy Karn, Ajibola Tolase, Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu, Sara Elkamel, Precious Arinze, Lameese Badr, Qutouf Yahia, Edil Hassan, Kolawole Adebayo, Cynthia Amoah, and Saradha Soobrayen.
The 350-page collection will be published on June 1, 2021 and is now available for pre-order here.
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Send Your Story in for Writers Space Africa-Nigeria’s Maiden Short Story Anthology
Deadline: March 7, 2021
Details here.
Send in Your Work to the Pontas Literary Agency & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize
Deadline: March 15, 2021
Details here.
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Masobe Books Is Currently Accepting Manuscript Submissions
Deadline: March 31, 2021
Details here.
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Uzodinma Iweala Shares the Sweetest Note about Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s Becoming WTO Director General
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While there’s plenty of coverage on the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director General of the World Trade Organization, we think the most important comes from her own son, Uzodinma Iweala — the author of Beasts of No Nation and Speak No Evil. In an Instagram post, he writes a super-sweet note about what Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment means, both to the world, to women around the world, and to him, as her son.
Check it out below!
Today my mother, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was confirmed as the first African woman to lead the @worldtradeorganization. It was a long road that started in July of 2020. I was lucky enough to accompany her to Geneva, Switzerland as moral support while she undertook the first round of the selection process. That’s when we took this picture.
I’ve read a number of articles about her appointment that say “Now, the work begins!” This is true, but it’s also clear that such statements don’t take into account the insane amount of work that women (especially Black women) must do just to be considered for positions for which they are clearly qualified. It’s not just my mother. It’s women like @staceyabrams or Vice-President @kamalaharris and so many others on whom the cameras do not focus, about whom the newspapers do not write.
It goes without saying that I’m so very proud. I’m excited to see how she gets to work, how she will use the position to make global trade more equitable and conscious of its impact on our natural environment. It’s also a victory for multilateralism in a moment where some would rather focus on nationalistic ideas that divide, even while we face unprecedented global crises that do not heed borders.
I’ve learned a lot from my mother’s determination, her boundless energy when working to support others, and her unwillingness to let others dictate her future. I’ll be playing Prince Nico Mbarga’s Sweet Mother on repeat today — join me!
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Check Out Oyinkan Braithwaite’s Digital Illustration Instagram Page!
by ANGELINE PETERSON
In 2017, Braithwaite created the Instagram account @oyinsphere to archive her journey with pencil and digital illustration. Braithwaite’s illustration-focused Instagram is presented under her married name, Oyinkan Odunlami. Her husband, Temidayo Odunlami, is a professional character animator and visual storyteller. His work can be found under the Instagram handle @dayo.odunlami....
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Afrikan Echoes, an Audiobooks App Developed by “the Bill Gates of Ghana,” to Launch March 2021
by ANGELINE PETERSON
This March, Afrikan Echoes, an app uniquely designed for Africans on the continent to play, download, and share original and unpublished African works that have been translated into African languages will launch. Afrikan Echoes is developed by Herman Chinery-Hesse, Ghanaian technology entrepreneur, the “the Bill Gates of Ghana.”
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“I Think of Poems I Have Lost” | Watch Soyinka Read “Lost Poems”
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flipped eye publishing celebrates its 20th anniversary this year!
Founded in 2001 by writer and editor Nii Ayikwei Parkes, this independent press publishes poetry and prose by diverse and emerging voices on the literary scene. As its website states, “flipped eye publishing is a lean, reader-focused, writer-loving, boat-rocking support system for culture that matters. History is just a beginning for us.”
Notable writers published by the press include Inua Ellams and Martin Egblewogbe whose most recent works were featured in Brittle Paper’s 50 Notable African Books of 2020.
According to The Bookseller, flipped eye publishing will celebrate this milestone with “a nationwide search for a young editorial intern” and a digital bookshop tour in May.
Parkes shared his reflection about the past 20 years and plans for the future:
The 20 years have come so fast that it’s hard to believe, but I realize how big a deal it is for a small press to survive this long. However, more than survival, I am proud that we’ve managed to keep true to the things that inspired our beginnings—a commitment to produce affordable books… We might not be as small as we’ve been, but we will remain a powerful advocate for true representation in the publishing industry, from the boardroom to the very nature of the stories we allow the world to experience.
Exciting new titles to expect from flipped eye publishing in 2021 include:
Congratulations to Nii Ayikwei Parkes and the flipped eye publishing team!
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Jordan Ifueko Has a Forthcoming Comic Book for Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Tricksters Series
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Lauren Beukes Curates Anthology of “What If” Stories by Tade Thompson, Angela Makholwa, Mohale Mashigo
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Zukiswa Wanner Has a Children’s Book Forthcoming May 2021
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
The 16 Writers Longlisted for the 2021 Afritondo Short Story Prize
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Rwandan Poet Innocent Bahati Is Reported Missing
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Tochi Onyebuchi ‘s Forthcoming Book, (S)kin Folk, Is a Response to Adichie’s Americanah
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
The Longlist for the 2020 Awele Creative Trust Award Is Out
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Masande Ntshanga Assumes Stewardship of New Contrast Magazine
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Top Chef Finalist Eric Adjepong Signs Two Book Deals with Penguin Random House
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Arao Ameny Wins 2020 James Olney Award
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Listen to Teju Cole Discuss His Latest Photobook, Fernweh
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Tochi Onyebuchi and Hafizah Geter Nominated for 52nd NAACP Image Awards
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Wole Oguntokun Nominated for Inaugural Young-Howze Theatre Awards Focused on Digital Theatre
by BRITTLE PAPER
Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones to Be Adapted for Film
by BRITTLE PAPER
Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom Longlisted for 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Oyinkan Braithwaite and Yaba Badoe Are on The British Book Awards Judging Panel
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
You’ll Soon Be Able to Listen to Stories by Afrolit Sans Frontières Authors on Audible
by BRITTLE PAPER
Nnedi Okorafor Has New Story About #EndSARS Protests in New Marvel Collection
by BRITTLE PAPER
Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse Wins the Prix des 5 Continents 2020
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Listen to Ben Okri’s New Short Story “A Wrinkle in the Realm”
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Chimamanda Adichie’s New Book, Notes on Grief, Forthcoming May 2021
by BRITTLE PAPER
People Like Them, Forthcoming July 2021, Is Samira Sedira’s First Novel to Be Translated into English
by ANGELINE PETERSON
Nnedi Okorafor x The Walt Disney Company…???
by BRITTLE PAPER
Black Is King Director Blitz Bazawule’s Debut Novel, The Scent of Burnt Flowers, Forthcoming In 2022
by BRITTLE PAPER
Novels by Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine and Haytham El-Wardany Receive 2021 PEN/Heim Translation Grant
by ANGELINE PETERSON
World English Rights for Bisi Adjapon’s Of Women and Frogs Acquired by HarperCollins USA
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Caleb Femi, Inua Ellams, Mark Gevisser on 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize Longlist
by CHUKWUEBUKA IBEH
Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate’s “Manifesto and Memoir” Forthcoming This Fall
by BRITTLE PAPER
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Thanks for reading!
Be sure to go on here to read the latest stories, news, and more from the African literary scene. And please keep in touch, we'd love to hear from you! Email us!
Cheers!
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Copyright © 2021 Brittle Paper, All rights reserved.
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