Books

As the first published African female playwright and Ghana’s former Minister of Education, the author of No Sweetness Here and Our Sister Killjoy was admired by Chimamanda Adichie, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and popstar Burna Boy. “The decay of Africa’s social, political, and economic systems is directly related to the complete marginalization of women,” she once 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?
Ahead of its release in Nigeria, the collection about gay men just won the inaugural Republic of Consciousness Prize for the US and Canada: a highlight in a series of recognition from the Kirkus Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Story Prize, and the Lambda Awards.
It is the second novel and ninth book by the great writer who appeared on the cover of Open Country Mag. Random House describes it as “a startling work of realism and invention.”

New Writing & Excerpts

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?”
The first essay collection from the PEN Pinter Prize winner and Booker Prize-nominated novelist: “That which is dead does not feel. We are not dead while we protest.”
The third novel from the Nigerian sees a woman search for her father: “The man in the picture was the darkest tint in the human spectrum.”
In the Somali writer’s debut novel, a tense dynamic between a gifted reclusive lesbian artist and her punk hijabi protégé.

Book Reviews

Emmanuel Iduma

3/5

Amatoritsero Ede

2.5/5

Will Jawando

3/5

Arinze Ifeakandu

4/5

Teju Cole

4/5

Gbenga Adeoba

3/5

Shop

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.
Leila Aboulela - RIVER SPIRIT

River Spirit

Leila Aboulela

As a revolutionary leader rises to power – the self-proclaimed Mahdi, prophesied redeemer of Islam – Sudan begins to slip from the grasp of Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side.

Film & TV

Chidi Mokeme and Nse Ikpe-Etim were snubbed in a near shut-out of Netflix series Shanty Town, with Tobi Bakre scooping a shock Best Drama Actor victory as Brotherhood swept its categories. Perennial Best Comedy Actress champ Funke Akindele also lost for the first time in five years while Anikulapo won Best Overall Movie.
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?
Created by Didier Lacoste and Joy Fleury, with screenplay by Ukamaka Olisakwe, Adachioma Ezeano, and Jude Idada, it will focus on the two Franco-Dahomean Wars of 1890-94. The story, said Olisakwe, looks at “how this impacted lives and the Kingdom’s long rivalry with its neighbors.”
“Love is a good point for telling stories because it brings out all the other emotions of pain, happiness, joy, euphoria, and sadness,” she said of the warmly received Ndani TV web series. “And it’s what our audience—a lot of them—want in their lives.”

Film & TV Reviews

Jade Osiberu

3.3/5

Loukman Ali

2.9/5

Dimeji Ajibola

3.3/5

Walter Banger

2.5/5

Niyi Akinmolayan

3.5/5

Biyi Bandele and Kenneth Gyang

3.3/5

Streaming

Culture

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 — our first in a series with industry leaders.
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.”
Awaiting Trial finds the emotional core of police brutality and the End SARS protests in Nigeria. It is “a deliberate telling of the consequences of the death and damage dealt on all of us,” said narrator and executive producer Chude Jideonwo.

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