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May 29, 2025

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Great Kenyan Writer Who Centred African Languages, Dies at 87

The novelist, playwright, and theorist left a blistering legacy. He was, with Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, regarded as part of an unofficial trinity: the continent’s greatest pioneering writers.
Victor Ebubechukwu Orji
Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Steve Zylius/UCI.

February 5, 2025

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Is on the Host Committee for the MET Gala 2025

Her selection — with LeBron James, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour as chairs — coincides with the rollout of her forthcoming fourth novel Dream Count.
Victor Ebubechukwu Orji
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. From Chimamanda.com.

October 15, 2022

Romeo Oriogun Is the First Openly Queer Writer to Win the Nigeria Prize for Literature

The bisexual poet’s historic victory, for his second collection Nomad, is also the first time that a writer of the younger generation has won Africa’s richest prize, worth $100,000.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Romeo Oriogun for Open Country Mag.

September 10, 2022

Arinze Ifeakandu Leads Shortlist for $50,000 Kirkus Prize

The debut Nigerian author’s short story collection, God’s Children Are Little Broken Things, has seen him compared to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Zadie Smith and praised by Damon Galgut.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Arinze Ifeakandu by Bec Stupak Diop.

September 7, 2022

Booker Prize: NoViolet Bulawayo Is the First Woman to Be Shortlisted for Her First Two Novels

With Glory, the Zimbabwean joins Nigeria’s Chigozie Obioma and India’s Rohinton Mistry in an elite group.
Otosirieze
NoViolet Bulawayo

August 27, 2022

The $100,000 NLNG Prize Announces Youngest Ever Shortlist

In an unusual decision that has surprised and delighted observers, the final three poets—Romeo Oriogun, Su’eddie Vershima Agema, and Saddiq Dzukogi—come from the younger generation.
Uzoma Ihejirika
Romeo Oriogun by Romeo Oriogun

July 28, 2022

NoViolet Bulawayo’s Political Allegory Glory on Booker Prize Longlist

It is the Zimbabwean’s second novel to be longlisted, after her 2013 debut We Need New Names reached the shortlist.
Uzoma Ihejirika
NoViolet Bulawayo

July 28, 2022

Jumi Bello’s Debut Novel Was Dropped for Plagiarism. New Details Show It’s Serial.

An investigative feature in Airmail traced the American Nigerian writer’s history of taking without attribution.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Jumi Bello by Saman Assefi via Airmail.

July 20, 2022

In Affectionate Open Letter, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Endorses Peter Obi for President of Nigeria

The influential culture icon had social media spinning with her birthday note to the Labour Party candidate, already the hot favourite for young Nigerians.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with Peter Obi at a burial event for her mother Grace Ifeoma Adichie.

July 16, 2022

Racism and an Unsolved Murder: American Novelist Delia Owens’ Past in Zambia Resurfaces

In the US, the 73-year-old’s novel Where the Crawdads Sing has sold 12 million copies and is now a film. In Zambia, she and her family are wanted for questioning for murder.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Delia Owens. Photo from author website.

July 11, 2022

The $100,000 NLNG Prize Longlist a Mix of Young and Veteran Nigerian Poets

The 11 nominees for Africa’s richest literary award, led by rising star Romeo Oriogun, include Iquo DianaAbasi and Su’eddie Vershima Agema—a departure from its tradition of ignoring newer voices.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Romeo Oriogun by Romeo Oriogun

June 23, 2022

Roxane Gay Books Is Seeking Manuscript Submissions

The Grove Atlantic imprint, which is also open to unagented writers, is further paying $2,000 for essays for its newsletter.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Roxane Gay Books

June 23, 2022

Win £1,000 from the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

Open Country Mag
A print issue of Wasafiri. From @WasafiriMag on Twitter.

June 15, 2022

5 Paying Magazines Now Open to Submissions

Send work to Frontier Poetry, Palette Poetry, Rattle Poetry, Isele, and Afreada.
Paula Willie-Okafor
AFREADA print Issue 00. From @AFREADA on Twitter.

May 28, 2022

Ladan Osman Accuses Filmmaker Joe Penney of Theft and Sexual Harassment

The issue surrounds a short film she worked on with him and the Malian artist Abdou Ouloguem. Both men, she said, created a hostile and sexist atmosphere for her.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Ladan Osman by Joe Penney.

May 25, 2022

The Gerald Kraak Prize Awarded to Roy Udeh-Ubaka

The Nigerian writer was chosen for his short story, “Until It Doesn’t,” which the judges called “brave fiction that tweaks the possibilities of the short story form.”
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Roy Udeh-Ubaka wins Gerald Kraak Prize.

May 17, 2022

The 2022 Gerald Kraak Prize, for Writing on Gender, Social Justice, & Sexuality, Announces Anticipated Shortlist

The 12 finalists, who get $200 each, were chosen by a judging panel chaired by Otosirieze Obi-Young and including Ellah Wakatama and Mark Gevisser.
Open Country Mag
The Gerald Kraak Prize - photo gallery from 2019 event

May 13, 2022

The O. Henry Prize Series Opens to African Magazines (Exclusive)

Series Editor Jenny Minton Quigley on celebrating the short story form and the ripple effect of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s guest-editing role.
Otosirieze
The O. Henry Prize Anthology 2021, guest-edited by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Photo by The O. Henry Prizes.

May 4, 2022

Ikhide R. Ikheloa Receives James Currey Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award

The Nigerian social critic has blogged extensively on the intersection of African literature and politics.
Uzoma Ihejirika
ikhide ikheloa

May 4, 2022

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.”
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Zibusiso Mpofu

May 29, 2025

Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Steve Zylius/UCI.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Great Kenyan Writer Who Centred African Languages, Dies at 87

The novelist, playwright, and theorist left a blistering legacy. He was, with Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, regarded as part of an unofficial trinity: the continent’s greatest pioneering writers.
Victor Ebubechukwu Orji

February 5, 2025

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. From Chimamanda.com.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Is on the Host Committee for the MET Gala 2025

Her selection — with LeBron James, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour as chairs — coincides with the rollout of her forthcoming fourth novel Dream Count.
Victor Ebubechukwu Orji

October 15, 2022

Romeo Oriogun for Open Country Mag.

Romeo Oriogun Is the First Openly Queer Writer to Win the Nigeria Prize for Literature

The bisexual poet’s historic victory, for his second collection Nomad, is also the first time that a writer of the younger generation has won Africa’s richest prize, worth $100,000.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

September 10, 2022

Arinze Ifeakandu by Bec Stupak Diop.

Arinze Ifeakandu Leads Shortlist for $50,000 Kirkus Prize

The debut Nigerian author’s short story collection, God’s Children Are Little Broken Things, has seen him compared to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Zadie Smith and praised by Damon Galgut.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

September 7, 2022

NoViolet Bulawayo

Booker Prize: NoViolet Bulawayo Is the First Woman to Be Shortlisted for Her First Two Novels

With Glory, the Zimbabwean joins Nigeria’s Chigozie Obioma and India’s Rohinton Mistry in an elite group.
Otosirieze

August 27, 2022

Romeo Oriogun by Romeo Oriogun

The $100,000 NLNG Prize Announces Youngest Ever Shortlist

In an unusual decision that has surprised and delighted observers, the final three poets—Romeo Oriogun, Su’eddie Vershima Agema, and Saddiq Dzukogi—come from the younger generation.
Uzoma Ihejirika

July 28, 2022

NoViolet Bulawayo

NoViolet Bulawayo’s Political Allegory Glory on Booker Prize Longlist

It is the Zimbabwean’s second novel to be longlisted, after her 2013 debut We Need New Names reached the shortlist.
Uzoma Ihejirika

July 28, 2022

Jumi Bello by Saman Assefi via Airmail.

Jumi Bello’s Debut Novel Was Dropped for Plagiarism. New Details Show It’s Serial.

An investigative feature in Airmail traced the American Nigerian writer’s history of taking without attribution.
Paula Willie-Okafor

July 20, 2022

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with Peter Obi at a burial event for her mother Grace Ifeoma Adichie.

In Affectionate Open Letter, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Endorses Peter Obi for President of Nigeria

The influential culture icon had social media spinning with her birthday note to the Labour Party candidate, already the hot favourite for young Nigerians.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

July 16, 2022

Delia Owens. Photo from author website.

Racism and an Unsolved Murder: American Novelist Delia Owens’ Past in Zambia Resurfaces

In the US, the 73-year-old’s novel Where the Crawdads Sing has sold 12 million copies and is now a film. In Zambia, she and her family are wanted for questioning for murder.
Paula Willie-Okafor

July 11, 2022

Romeo Oriogun by Romeo Oriogun

The $100,000 NLNG Prize Longlist a Mix of Young and Veteran Nigerian Poets

The 11 nominees for Africa’s richest literary award, led by rising star Romeo Oriogun, include Iquo DianaAbasi and Su’eddie Vershima Agema—a departure from its tradition of ignoring newer voices.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

June 23, 2022

Roxane Gay Books

Roxane Gay Books Is Seeking Manuscript Submissions

The Grove Atlantic imprint, which is also open to unagented writers, is further paying $2,000 for essays for its newsletter.
Paula Willie-Okafor

June 23, 2022

A print issue of Wasafiri. From @WasafiriMag on Twitter.

Win £1,000 from the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

Open Country Mag

June 15, 2022

AFREADA print Issue 00. From @AFREADA on Twitter.

5 Paying Magazines Now Open to Submissions

Send work to Frontier Poetry, Palette Poetry, Rattle Poetry, Isele, and Afreada.
Paula Willie-Okafor

May 28, 2022

Ladan Osman by Joe Penney.

Ladan Osman Accuses Filmmaker Joe Penney of Theft and Sexual Harassment

The issue surrounds a short film she worked on with him and the Malian artist Abdou Ouloguem. Both men, she said, created a hostile and sexist atmosphere for her.
Paula Willie-Okafor

May 25, 2022

Roy Udeh-Ubaka wins Gerald Kraak Prize.

The Gerald Kraak Prize Awarded to Roy Udeh-Ubaka

The Nigerian writer was chosen for his short story, “Until It Doesn’t,” which the judges called “brave fiction that tweaks the possibilities of the short story form.”
Emmanuel Esomnofu

May 17, 2022

The Gerald Kraak Prize - photo gallery from 2019 event

The 2022 Gerald Kraak Prize, for Writing on Gender, Social Justice, & Sexuality, Announces Anticipated Shortlist

The 12 finalists, who get $200 each, were chosen by a judging panel chaired by Otosirieze Obi-Young and including Ellah Wakatama and Mark Gevisser.
Open Country Mag

May 13, 2022

The O. Henry Prize Anthology 2021, guest-edited by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Photo by The O. Henry Prizes.

The O. Henry Prize Series Opens to African Magazines (Exclusive)

Series Editor Jenny Minton Quigley on celebrating the short story form and the ripple effect of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s guest-editing role.
Otosirieze

May 4, 2022

ikhide ikheloa

Ikhide R. Ikheloa Receives James Currey Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award

The Nigerian social critic has blogged extensively on the intersection of African literature and politics.
Uzoma Ihejirika

May 4, 2022

Zibusiso Mpofu

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.”
Emmanuel Esomnofu

“An ambitious new magazine committed to African literature”

— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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