Emmanuel Esomnofu, Staff Writer at Open Country Mag

Zimbabwe’s Zibusiso Mpofu Wins 2022 Brunel Prize

The judges praised his “allusive, lyrical poems [which] open a new itinerary in African poetry, drawing in Shona and Mandarin and mapping a journey of the Black body through India, Hong Kong, the Philippines and China.”

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

After 4-Way Auction, W&N Acquires UK Rights to Arinze Ifeakandu’s “Future Classic”

The author of God’s Children Are Broken Little Things is “destined to join the ranks of artists such as Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.”

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

Abdulrazak Gurnah & Warsan Shire Set for PEN World Voices Festival 2022

Other African writers participating include Laila Lalami, Ousman Umar, Tochi Onyebuchi, and Leila Slimani.

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

Logan February on Their Becoming

The Future Award Africa Prize-winning Nigerian poet and author of the collection In the Nude on “the book as an interface for the soul” and their literary, musical, and cinematic influences.

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

Ani Kayode Somtochukwu’s Debut Novel Goes to Roxane Gay Books

And Then He Sang a Lullaby is described by the Grove Atlantic imprint as “a passionate love story about two young men who may have too far a distance to bridge to another.”

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

On The Offside Musings, Okey Ndibe Tackles Nigerian Politics

The podcast, with co-host Emeka Onyeagwa, is a “deep and often entertaining insight into Nigerian current affairs and culture.”

By Emmanuel Esomnofu

Romeo Oriogun Wrested Poetry from Pain

From the streets of Benin City to The New Yorker, a young working-class Nigerian writer scaled obstacles and became a defining voice in African poetry.

By Emmanuel Esomnofu