Olongo Africa celebrated International Mother Tongue Day, February 21, with a new anthology edited by Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún and Olajide Salawu. International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. The day, which was gazetted by UNESCO in 1999, has […]
The Mogadishu Book Fair 2023, the seventh edition of the festival in the Horn of Africa, will be running in Somalia from May 24 – 26, 2023. The Mogadishu Book Fair was founded by Sheikh Mohamed Diini to promote books, reading, literature, and culture while bringing together authors, scholars, poets, booksellers, publishers, and the Mogadishu […]
Rentrée Littéraire du Mali 2023 runs in venues around Bamako, Mali from February 21 – 25, 2023. The festival theme is “Decompartmentalising Africa.” Rentrée Littéraire du Mali (Literary Return of Mali) is a festival of books, words, and ideas hosted in Bamako, Mali. It invites writers, academics, researchers and artists from five continents and the […]
Abdulrahim Hussani was declared the winner of the Toyin Fálọlá Prize 2022 on Friday, February 17, 2023. The Toyin Fálọlá Prize is an award from Nigerian-based Lunaris aimed at honouring distinguished African scholar and foremost historian, Prof Toyin Fálọlá, whose contributions to the field of African history and culture have continued to place Africa on […]
Niyi Osundare was celebrated at the Boao International Poetry Prize 2022 in Shanghai, China on December 16, 2022. The Boao International Poetry Festival which brings together poets, critics, and translators from all over the world to celebrate poetry in all its forms has been hosted in China since 2019. It is organized by the Huang […]
Salon du Livre Africain de Paris 2023 will be hosted in Paris, France from March 17-19, 2023. The guest country will be Guinea. The first edition of Salon du Livre Africain de Paris (African Book Fair in Paris) organised by Erick Monjour was hosted in 2021. The main feature of the festival was a space […]
GenevAfrica 2023, curated by novelist and poet Max Lobe, runs in Geneva, Switzerland from May 10 – 22, 2023. GenevAfrica is a project aimed at creating literary bridges between French-speaking authors and continental African authors. The first edition, a partnership between the Swiss Embassy in Kinshasa and the French Institute, was hosted in February 2020 […]
We wrap up book news for our readers in our regular Book Digest segment with new books from João Melo, Sharma Taylor, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, and Bisi Adjapon. Angola is Wherever I Plant My Field by João Melo Publisher: Iskanchi PressPublication Date: January 30, 2023Genre: FictionLanguage: EnglishWhere to find it: Iskanchi Press João Melo João […]
Lolwe, Yaba Left Review, ArabLit Quarterly, and Imbiza Journal are currently available for your reading pleasure. Yaba Left Review Yaba Left Review is an online periodical dedicated to the publication of works that combine mastery of craft with fresh perspectives on the human condition. The publication’s managing editor is Adeola Opeyemi and its editors Socrates […]
Novelist and journalist Leye Adenle is the headliner at the February edition of Labone Dialogues by NYU Accra on February 16, 2023. In early 2020, the ‘Labone Dialogues by NYU Accra’ was conceived and curated by Prof. Chiké Frankie Edozien, the Global Site Director for the New York University campus in Labone. The series has […]
Paterson Joseph’s The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is on the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 longlist announced today, February 14, 2023. The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award created by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, whose ancestors were closely linked to Scottish author Sir Walter […]
Time of the Writer 2023 will be hosted in Durban, South Africa from March 16 -21, 2023. The featured author will be Sindiwe Magona. Time of the Writer, organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, has hosted some of the biggest names in African and world literature since 1996. Hosted annually in […]
The longlist of fifteen writers in the running for the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2023 was announced on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Afritondo, a platform that aims to connect with and tell the stories of African and black minority populations across the globe, is the organisation behind the Afritondo Short Story Prize. Previous winners have […]
The Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers will be hosted at the Johannesburg Business School on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers is an initiative hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s Johannesburg Institute of Advance Studies. It is aimed at showcasing and celebrating the work of women writers, fostering intergenerational conversations between […]
Ten Black writers were selected at the Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize 2023 on January 24, 2023. The Writers’ Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers’ Trust of Canada for the best short story published by an emerging […]
