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June 17, 2021

The James Currey Prize for Literature 2021: The Longlist

The £1,000 award, founded by the Nigerian writer Onyeka Nwelue, is for unpublished manuscripts.
James Currey Prize for Literature
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God, both from Heinemann's African Writers Series, edited by Achebe and published by James Currey. Credit: Brown Bag Books.

June 9, 2021

Chibuihe Obi Achimba Wins SBCF Emerging Artist Award

The prestigious New England initiative selected the Nigerian writer and former Harvard fellow for his poetry manuscript in progress.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Chibuihe Obi Achimba.

June 9, 2021

Tsitsi Dangarembga Awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2021

The novelist—Open Country Mag’s December 2020 cover star—is recognized for her “unflinching, unswerving gaze,” having “charted the development of Zimbabwe from a British colony to an autocratic and troubled free state.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
Tsitsi Dangarembga.

June 4, 2021

David Diop Wins International Booker Prize for Story of Senegalese Soldiers During WWI

Inspired by his grandfather, At Night All Blood Is Black takes place at the French front. Diop will share the £50,000 with his translator Anna Moschovakis.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
David Diop by Joel Saget, AFP.

June 3, 2021

Troy Onyango, Rémy Ngamije Lead “Revitalizing” AKO Caine Prize Shortlist

After a key change to the prize rules, three of the five finalists are published by new African literary magazines: Namibia’s first literary magazine Doek!, Kenya’s Lolwe, and Uganda’s Ibua Journal.
Ernest Ogunyemi
Rémy Ngamije by Abantu Festival.

June 3, 2021

Akwaeke Emezi Covers TIME as a 2021 Next Generation Leader

The Nigerian novelist is, the magazine says, “a storyteller for a changing world.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
Akwaeke Emezi covers TIME. Photo by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

June 2, 2021

Bernardine Evaristo & Teju Cole Elected into American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Joining them are Oprah Winfrey, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and 248 others in the humanities, arts, sciences, social sciences, and business.
Paula Willie-Okafor

June 2, 2021

Itiola Jones Receives Fellowship from Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing

The 20.35 Africa collective member will use the time to finish her collection of poetry.
Paula Willie-Okafor
I.S. Jones by Nicholas Nichols.

May 28, 2021

Binyavanga Wainaina, in His Own Words

On the second anniversary of the great Kenyan writer’s passing, we remember him with some of his quotes.
Ernest Ogunyemi
Binyavanga Wainaina by Allan Gichigi.

May 28, 2021

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Wins Jhalak Prize 2021

The Ugandan was awarded for her second novel, The First Woman.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Jennifer Makumbi by Danny Moran.

May 23, 2021

Abibiman Publishing Aims to “Change the Narrative” for African & Caribbean Authors

The new press, launched by novelist and filmmaker Onyeka Nwelue and business consultant Chudi Igweonu, hopes to bring “solid visibility” to stories.
Ernest Ogunyemi
Onyeka Nwelue. From the Guardian.

May 23, 2021

Chinua Achebe Saw the Nigerian Oppression

On the eight anniversary of his burial, we look at the great writer’s continued relevance. By engaging his work more as a chronicle of oppression, one sees him as a modern voice who still has so much to say.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Chinua Achebe. From The Paris Review.

May 20, 2021

Margaret Busby to Receive London Book Fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award

The Ghanaian-born editor, who has been called “the doyenne of Black British publishing,” will be presented with the honour by Bernardine Evaristo and Zadie Smith.
Otosirieze
Margaret Busby.

May 13, 2021

Othuke Umukoro Wins Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021

The judges for the $3,000 prize praised the Nigerian as “a complex poet, with the formal skills to match the weight of the subjects he takes on.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
Othuke Umukoro. From Brunel Prize.

May 3, 2021

Akwaeke Emezi’s Romance Novel Bought by Outlier Society in 7-Figure Film Deal

Written last year, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is about a Nigerian artist in love and grief. Outlier Society is Michael B. Jordan’s company.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Akwaeke Emezi by Frances F. Denny.

April 30, 2021

Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom Shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021

The selections, says the chair of judges Bernardine Evaristo, are “gloriously varied and thematically rich . . . and grapple with society’s big issues expressed through thrilling storytelling.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
Yaa Gyasi by Cody Pickens for TIME.

April 23, 2021

Jowhor Ile & Adachioma Ezeano Win O. Henry Prizes 2021

Their short stories will appear in The Best Short Stories Anthology 2021, guest-edited and introduced by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Being selected is “a thrill,” Ezeano says.
Ernest Ogunyemi
Jowhor Ile. From Bella Naija.

April 18, 2021

Ladan Osman & Tope Folarin Win Whiting Awards

“Osman’s dazzling and incisive poetry creates vibrant connections between generations of women,” said the committee. “Folarin’s fable-like novel is painful in its examination of the way ready-made beliefs are overlaid onto the minds of children.”
Uzoma Ihejirika
Ladan Osman by Joe Penney.

April 8, 2021

Kemi Alabi’s Manuscript, Against Heaven, Wins Academy of American Poets First Book Award

The American poet Claudia Rankine, who picked it as winner, called it “energetic and brilliant.”
Ernest Ogunyemi
Kemi Alabi by Ally Almore.

April 2, 2021

TJ Benson Holds History and Hope

Thirteen years after he started it, his debut novel The Madhouse finally arrives. This chronicle of the ‘90s, set in northern Nigeria, broadens the familiar for the 29-year-old.
Ernest Ogunyemi
TJ Benson by Nelson Apocho.

June 17, 2021

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God, both from Heinemann's African Writers Series, edited by Achebe and published by James Currey. Credit: Brown Bag Books.

The James Currey Prize for Literature 2021: The Longlist

The £1,000 award, founded by the Nigerian writer Onyeka Nwelue, is for unpublished manuscripts.
James Currey Prize for Literature

June 9, 2021

Chibuihe Obi Achimba.

Chibuihe Obi Achimba Wins SBCF Emerging Artist Award

The prestigious New England initiative selected the Nigerian writer and former Harvard fellow for his poetry manuscript in progress.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

June 9, 2021

Tsitsi Dangarembga.

Tsitsi Dangarembga Awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2021

The novelist—Open Country Mag’s December 2020 cover star—is recognized for her “unflinching, unswerving gaze,” having “charted the development of Zimbabwe from a British colony to an autocratic and troubled free state.”
Ernest Ogunyemi

June 4, 2021

David Diop by Joel Saget, AFP.

David Diop Wins International Booker Prize for Story of Senegalese Soldiers During WWI

Inspired by his grandfather, At Night All Blood Is Black takes place at the French front. Diop will share the £50,000 with his translator Anna Moschovakis.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

June 3, 2021

Rémy Ngamije by Abantu Festival.

Troy Onyango, Rémy Ngamije Lead “Revitalizing” AKO Caine Prize Shortlist

After a key change to the prize rules, three of the five finalists are published by new African literary magazines: Namibia’s first literary magazine Doek!, Kenya’s Lolwe, and Uganda’s Ibua Journal.
Ernest Ogunyemi

June 3, 2021

Akwaeke Emezi covers TIME. Photo by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

Akwaeke Emezi Covers TIME as a 2021 Next Generation Leader

The Nigerian novelist is, the magazine says, “a storyteller for a changing world.”
Ernest Ogunyemi

June 2, 2021

Bernardine Evaristo & Teju Cole Elected into American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Joining them are Oprah Winfrey, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and 248 others in the humanities, arts, sciences, social sciences, and business.
Paula Willie-Okafor

June 2, 2021

I.S. Jones by Nicholas Nichols.

Itiola Jones Receives Fellowship from Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing

The 20.35 Africa collective member will use the time to finish her collection of poetry.
Paula Willie-Okafor

May 28, 2021

Binyavanga Wainaina by Allan Gichigi.

Binyavanga Wainaina, in His Own Words

On the second anniversary of the great Kenyan writer’s passing, we remember him with some of his quotes.
Ernest Ogunyemi

May 28, 2021

Jennifer Makumbi by Danny Moran.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Wins Jhalak Prize 2021

The Ugandan was awarded for her second novel, The First Woman.
Paula Willie-Okafor

May 23, 2021

Onyeka Nwelue. From the Guardian.

Abibiman Publishing Aims to “Change the Narrative” for African & Caribbean Authors

The new press, launched by novelist and filmmaker Onyeka Nwelue and business consultant Chudi Igweonu, hopes to bring “solid visibility” to stories.
Ernest Ogunyemi

May 23, 2021

Chinua Achebe. From The Paris Review.

Chinua Achebe Saw the Nigerian Oppression

On the eight anniversary of his burial, we look at the great writer’s continued relevance. By engaging his work more as a chronicle of oppression, one sees him as a modern voice who still has so much to say.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

May 20, 2021

Margaret Busby.

Margaret Busby to Receive London Book Fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award

The Ghanaian-born editor, who has been called “the doyenne of Black British publishing,” will be presented with the honour by Bernardine Evaristo and Zadie Smith.
Otosirieze

May 13, 2021

Othuke Umukoro. From Brunel Prize.

Othuke Umukoro Wins Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021

The judges for the $3,000 prize praised the Nigerian as “a complex poet, with the formal skills to match the weight of the subjects he takes on.”
Ernest Ogunyemi

May 3, 2021

Akwaeke Emezi by Frances F. Denny.

Akwaeke Emezi’s Romance Novel Bought by Outlier Society in 7-Figure Film Deal

Written last year, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is about a Nigerian artist in love and grief. Outlier Society is Michael B. Jordan’s company.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

April 30, 2021

Yaa Gyasi by Cody Pickens for TIME.

Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom Shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021

The selections, says the chair of judges Bernardine Evaristo, are “gloriously varied and thematically rich . . . and grapple with society’s big issues expressed through thrilling storytelling.”
Ernest Ogunyemi

April 23, 2021

Jowhor Ile. From Bella Naija.

Jowhor Ile & Adachioma Ezeano Win O. Henry Prizes 2021

Their short stories will appear in The Best Short Stories Anthology 2021, guest-edited and introduced by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Being selected is “a thrill,” Ezeano says.
Ernest Ogunyemi

April 18, 2021

Ladan Osman by Joe Penney.

Ladan Osman & Tope Folarin Win Whiting Awards

“Osman’s dazzling and incisive poetry creates vibrant connections between generations of women,” said the committee. “Folarin’s fable-like novel is painful in its examination of the way ready-made beliefs are overlaid onto the minds of children.”
Uzoma Ihejirika

April 8, 2021

Kemi Alabi by Ally Almore.

Kemi Alabi’s Manuscript, Against Heaven, Wins Academy of American Poets First Book Award

The American poet Claudia Rankine, who picked it as winner, called it “energetic and brilliant.”
Ernest Ogunyemi

April 2, 2021

TJ Benson by Nelson Apocho.

TJ Benson Holds History and Hope

Thirteen years after he started it, his debut novel The Madhouse finally arrives. This chronicle of the ‘90s, set in northern Nigeria, broadens the familiar for the 29-year-old.
Ernest Ogunyemi

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