Books

The Ghanaian American author of What Napoleon Could Not Do, a summer reading pick by Barack Obama, has been thinking about art in our contemporary times.
Headlined by a quartet of feted veteran voices in Wole Soyinka, Aminatta Forna, Jennifer Makumbi, and Chris Abani, NYU Accra’s 30-author symposium is a convergence of inspiration. “We have to tell our own story,” said convener and school director Chike Frankie Edozien.
In Between Starshine and Clay, the novelist interviews Toni Morrison, Michelle Obama, and Wole Soyinka, among other major Black figures in the arts and politics. “One of the things that was the most surprising was the actual extent to which they forged their own path,” she said.
Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad, the actress’ debut collection of stories, sold over 2,200 copies, assuring it the No. 1 spot on The Rovingheights Bestseller List: Presented with Open Country Mag. So why do these stories of failing romance connect so widely?

New Writing & Excerpts

As conversations sethe about the “death” of Nigerian literature and the loss of authenticity in its poetry, a writer counters for the growing japa-MFA subculture: “I call them the Nomadic Generation because of their complication of nationalism.”
20.35 Africa Vol. VI, edited by Nick Makoha and Safia Jama, is introduced by the series’ managing editor Precious Okpechi: “The poets understand that history evolves with us.”
Following The Theory of Flight and The History of Man, the Windham Campbell Prize winner concludes her City of Kings trilogy: “Her unsolved murder made what he needed to do now very difficult.”
The Women’s Prize-nominated and Caine Prize-winning author returns with her sixth novel, set in 1880s Sudan: “This is why she does not stop when she feels the sting. What sting?”

Book Reviews

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

3.4/5

Emmanuel Iduma

3/5

Amatoritsero Ede

2.5/5

Will Jawando

3/5

Arinze Ifeakandu

5/5

Teju Cole

4/5

Shop

How to Write About Africa

Binyavanga Wainaina

The late literary icon’s nonfiction, satire, and fiction. With introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Honey and Spice

Bolu Babalola

An expert in relationship-evasion and radio show host finds herself opening up to something deeper. A Reese Book Club pick and bestseller in Nigeria and the US.

Tomorrow I Become a Woman

Aiwanose Odafen

A complex relationship between a mother and a daughter as they grapple with tremendous loss and societal expectations. Bestseller in Nigeria.
Sarah Ladipo Manyika - Between Starshine and Clay

Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora

Sarah Ladipo Manyika

Interviews with distinguished black figures of our time: Toni Morrison, Claudia Rankine, Wole Soyinka, Michelle Obama, and more.

Film & TV

Director, producer, and screenplay writer Ebuka Njoku and producer Lorenzo Menakaya on their professional journeys and the making of their Netflix No. 1 hit.
A long career playing playboys and villains, including a soldier in ’76 and real-life robber Monday Osunbor, set him apart as an intriguing supporting act. But after a moment of personal adversity, he dug deep and returned in Shanty Town — a domineering leading turn unlike any other we have seen in Nollywood.
Since she erupted in The Meeting, playing against type as a hilariously antagonistic receptionist, the superstar has embodied complex women, including a soldier’s wife in ’76 and a bewitching singer in La Femme Anjola. Now, 25 years into her career, she is Nollywood’s most critically acclaimed actor, and Open Country Mag‘s first film cover star. But where does she draw from to inhabit these women?
The fantasy revenge thriller is Nigeria’s first indigenously produced film to go to Sundance, a first it already notched at Venice. “We tapped into something beyond us while making this one,” said producer Oge Obasi. “Hopefully, that opens more doors for Nigerian filmmakers,” said director C.J. Obasi.

Film & TV Reviews

Bravo and Livespot 360

3.6/5

Funke Akindele and Tobi Makinde

4.3/5

Jade Osiberu

3.5/5

Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo

3.3/5

Jade Osiberu

3.3/5

Loukman Ali

2.9/5

Streaming

Culture

The $6,000 initiative, sponsored by Africa No Filter, will fund and support five projects representing West, East, and Southern Africa: a musical and art exhibition, 3D fashion and storytelling, a mixed media project on Nok terracotta, a podcast on LGBTQI+ issues, and a documentary on Nollywood.
Alhaji Waziri Oshomah fused Highlife, local folk styles, and Western pop into songs of positivity in Auchi, Nigeria. When New York label Luaka Bop released The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah in its World Spirituality Classics series last year, we spoke to musician and label about his artistry.
As Paramount’s Country Director for Nigeria, Bada Akintunde-Johnson wants to model a new mode of business and creative leadership. “You can’t exert the highest possible positive influence on people without connecting with them on a deep personal level,” he said in this extensive interview — the first in our Leaders of Industries Series.
The Enugu-based hub, whose exhibitions, screenings, and lecture series have drawn 7,000 visitors, is, executive director Iheanyi Igboko says, “grooming a generation of young people who are not only grounded in their history and culture but proud of their Igbo identity.”

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