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February 10, 2022

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Wins $50,000 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature

The judges called the Kenyan author a “transformative figure in African Literature.”
Paula Willie-Okafor
Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Steve Zylius/UCI.

February 8, 2022

Arinze Ifeakandu, Eloghosa Osunde, TJ Benson Shortlisted for The Future Awards Africa Prize for Art & Literature

The three have books forthcoming this year.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Arinze Ifeakandu by Bec Stupak Diop.

February 7, 2022

Over 100 Writers Sign Open Letter on Missing Rwandan Poet Innocent Bahati

Ben Okri, J.M. Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, and Michael Ondaatje are among those urging Rwandan President Paul Kagame to intervene in the case.
Otosirieze
The poet Innocent Bahati has been missing in Rwanda for a year now.

February 5, 2022

Leila Chatti Wins Luschei Prize for African Poetry

The Tunisian American poet was selected for the APBF prize for her collection Deluge.
Otosirieze
Leila Chatti. Credit: Copper Canyon Press.

February 5, 2022

PEN Prize Winner Kakwenza Rukirabashaija Brutalized Again in Uganda

He was first arrested in 2020, and last year shared his story in an interview with us. He was rearrested this new year.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija. Photograph - English PEN

January 27, 2022

Cheswayo Mphanza Shortlisted for National Book Critics Circle Awards

The Zambian poet is up for his debut collection The Rinehart Frames.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Cheswayo Mphanza by The Paris Review.

January 27, 2022

Engaging Borders Africa Announces Finalists

The 30 short stories have “the shared aim of changing the ways young people understand radicalization, violent extremism, and disinformation, which are key feeders of conflict and terror in Africa.”
Engaging Borders Africa
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's novel Season of Crimson Blossoms is set in northern Nigeria, which has suffered a rise in terrorism.

January 27, 2022

Isele Magazine Launches Prizes for Contributors

The Isele Prizes are for short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Each winner will receive $200 at a ceremony in April 2022.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Isele Magazine's "The Woman Issue."

January 21, 2022

Bookshop.org Announces Shortlist for New Futures Programme

It includes BAME, neurodiverse, LGBTQ+, and visually and hearing impaired as well as mental health advocates.
Midas PR
A bookshop.org store. Image by Book Culture.

January 18, 2022

Country Love Depicts Tenderness in LGBTQ+ Nigerian Life

The forthcoming short film, a love story set in Enugu State, Nigeria, is Wapah Ezeigwe’s directorial debut. “I wasn’t willing to compromise any of my artistic vision,” they said.
Uzoma Ihejirika
A still from Wapah Ezeigwe's Country Love.

January 12, 2022

Lolwe Magazine Releases Issue 4

The Pan-African publication’s newest includes writing and photography. Read the editorial note by its founder Troy Onyango.
Lolwe
Lolwe-Issue-4-Cover

January 11, 2022

On an Eastern Nigerian Campus, a New Literary Hotspot

In Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, writers are gathering to converse and perform at Eagle Nest Book Club. “It is likely we have created something that will outstay us in this place,” said the founders.
Uzoma Ihejirika
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera and Mark Anthony Obumneme Osuchukwu, founders of Eagle Nest Book Club.

January 7, 2022

Doek! Magazine Releases Issue 7

The Namibian magazine’s latest issue, Soon/Come, features contributors from three continents. Read the editorial note by its founder Remy Ngamije.
Doek! Magazine
Doek Magazine Issue 7. Cover image by Collective For Black Iranians.

January 6, 2022

Anietie Isong’s Radio Sunrise Set for Film Adaptation

The production of the novel, which is about brown envelope journalism, is led by two Nollywood companies, Royal Arts Academy and Closer Pictures.
Open Country Mag
anietie isong - radio sunrise

January 4, 2022

Inside Chinese Publishers’ Growing Interest in African Literature

Since the 1980s, 106 African authors and 269 titles have been translated into the Chinese. Here, an insider provides an overview of the last two years, and a preview of 2022.
Bruce Humes
The Chinese edition of Congolese author Alain Mabanckou's Mémoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine), released in 2020. Credit: Sohu.com.

December 23, 2021

Chibụìhè Obi Achịmbá Wins Frontier Poetry’s Award for New Poets

“Part of the reality of being an international student is that one is always nearly broke,” the Nigerian writer said of the $3,000 award.
Uzoma Ihejirika
Chibuihe Obi Achimba.

December 23, 2021

The Nommo Awards, for African Speculative Fiction, Announces 2021 Winners

Novelist Akwaeke Emezi and editor Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki are among this year’s honorees of the African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS).
Paula Willie-Okafor
Akwaeke Emezi. From @azemezi on Instagram.

December 21, 2021

Brunel Prize to Be Renamed Evaristo Prize, as APBF Takes Over

After 10 years running it, Bernardine Evaristo steps down. “Having this prize named after her honors her, but more than that, it honors the prize,” said APBF founder Kwame Dawes.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Bernardine Evaristo by Rex.

December 21, 2021

Ukamaka Olisakwe Wins 2021 SprinNG Women Authors Prize

The novelist and Isele editor’s second novel, Ogadinma, Or: Everything Will Be Alright, will receive marketing worth N200,000.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Ukamaka Olisakwe. Credit: Ukamaka Olisakwe.

December 11, 2021

Shugri Said Salh on Writing Her Life in the Somali Desert

The debut author and nurse on her new memoir The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, the multiplicity of life, and the potential of stories.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Shugri Salh by Michael Woolsey.

February 10, 2022

Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Steve Zylius/UCI.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Wins $50,000 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature

The judges called the Kenyan author a “transformative figure in African Literature.”
Paula Willie-Okafor

February 8, 2022

Arinze Ifeakandu by Bec Stupak Diop.

Arinze Ifeakandu, Eloghosa Osunde, TJ Benson Shortlisted for The Future Awards Africa Prize for Art & Literature

The three have books forthcoming this year.
Paula Willie-Okafor

February 7, 2022

The poet Innocent Bahati has been missing in Rwanda for a year now.

Over 100 Writers Sign Open Letter on Missing Rwandan Poet Innocent Bahati

Ben Okri, J.M. Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, and Michael Ondaatje are among those urging Rwandan President Paul Kagame to intervene in the case.
Otosirieze

February 5, 2022

Leila Chatti. Credit: Copper Canyon Press.

Leila Chatti Wins Luschei Prize for African Poetry

The Tunisian American poet was selected for the APBF prize for her collection Deluge.
Otosirieze

February 5, 2022

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija. Photograph - English PEN

PEN Prize Winner Kakwenza Rukirabashaija Brutalized Again in Uganda

He was first arrested in 2020, and last year shared his story in an interview with us. He was rearrested this new year.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

January 27, 2022

Cheswayo Mphanza by The Paris Review.

Cheswayo Mphanza Shortlisted for National Book Critics Circle Awards

The Zambian poet is up for his debut collection The Rinehart Frames.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

January 27, 2022

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's novel Season of Crimson Blossoms is set in northern Nigeria, which has suffered a rise in terrorism.

Engaging Borders Africa Announces Finalists

The 30 short stories have “the shared aim of changing the ways young people understand radicalization, violent extremism, and disinformation, which are key feeders of conflict and terror in Africa.”
Engaging Borders Africa

January 27, 2022

Isele Magazine's "The Woman Issue."

Isele Magazine Launches Prizes for Contributors

The Isele Prizes are for short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Each winner will receive $200 at a ceremony in April 2022.
Paula Willie-Okafor

January 21, 2022

A bookshop.org store. Image by Book Culture.

Bookshop.org Announces Shortlist for New Futures Programme

It includes BAME, neurodiverse, LGBTQ+, and visually and hearing impaired as well as mental health advocates.
Midas PR

January 18, 2022

A still from Wapah Ezeigwe's Country Love.

Country Love Depicts Tenderness in LGBTQ+ Nigerian Life

The forthcoming short film, a love story set in Enugu State, Nigeria, is Wapah Ezeigwe’s directorial debut. “I wasn’t willing to compromise any of my artistic vision,” they said.
Uzoma Ihejirika

January 12, 2022

Lolwe-Issue-4-Cover

Lolwe Magazine Releases Issue 4

The Pan-African publication’s newest includes writing and photography. Read the editorial note by its founder Troy Onyango.
Lolwe

January 11, 2022

Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera and Mark Anthony Obumneme Osuchukwu, founders of Eagle Nest Book Club.

On an Eastern Nigerian Campus, a New Literary Hotspot

In Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, writers are gathering to converse and perform at Eagle Nest Book Club. “It is likely we have created something that will outstay us in this place,” said the founders.
Uzoma Ihejirika

January 7, 2022

Doek Magazine Issue 7. Cover image by Collective For Black Iranians.

Doek! Magazine Releases Issue 7

The Namibian magazine’s latest issue, Soon/Come, features contributors from three continents. Read the editorial note by its founder Remy Ngamije.
Doek! Magazine

January 6, 2022

anietie isong - radio sunrise

Anietie Isong’s Radio Sunrise Set for Film Adaptation

The production of the novel, which is about brown envelope journalism, is led by two Nollywood companies, Royal Arts Academy and Closer Pictures.
Open Country Mag

January 4, 2022

The Chinese edition of Congolese author Alain Mabanckou's Mémoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine), released in 2020. Credit: Sohu.com.

Inside Chinese Publishers’ Growing Interest in African Literature

Since the 1980s, 106 African authors and 269 titles have been translated into the Chinese. Here, an insider provides an overview of the last two years, and a preview of 2022.
Bruce Humes

December 23, 2021

Chibuihe Obi Achimba.

Chibụìhè Obi Achịmbá Wins Frontier Poetry’s Award for New Poets

“Part of the reality of being an international student is that one is always nearly broke,” the Nigerian writer said of the $3,000 award.
Uzoma Ihejirika

December 23, 2021

Akwaeke Emezi. From @azemezi on Instagram.

The Nommo Awards, for African Speculative Fiction, Announces 2021 Winners

Novelist Akwaeke Emezi and editor Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki are among this year’s honorees of the African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS).
Paula Willie-Okafor

December 21, 2021

Bernardine Evaristo by Rex.

Brunel Prize to Be Renamed Evaristo Prize, as APBF Takes Over

After 10 years running it, Bernardine Evaristo steps down. “Having this prize named after her honors her, but more than that, it honors the prize,” said APBF founder Kwame Dawes.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

December 21, 2021

Ukamaka Olisakwe. Credit: Ukamaka Olisakwe.

Ukamaka Olisakwe Wins 2021 SprinNG Women Authors Prize

The novelist and Isele editor’s second novel, Ogadinma, Or: Everything Will Be Alright, will receive marketing worth N200,000.
Paula Willie-Okafor

December 11, 2021

Shugri Salh by Michael Woolsey.

Shugri Said Salh on Writing Her Life in the Somali Desert

The debut author and nurse on her new memoir The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, the multiplicity of life, and the potential of stories.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

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