Contributors

Leila Aboulela
Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela is an award-winning novelist and playwright. Her novels, which were all longlisted for the Orange Prize, include ‘The Translator’ (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), ‘Minaret’ and ‘Lyrics Alley’. ‘Lyrics Alley’ was also Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards. Translated into fourteen languages, Aboulela’s work has received a high profile for its distinctive exploration of identity, migration and Islamic spirituality. Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and now lives in Aberdeen. At Africa Writes 2018 Leila launches her new collection of short stories, 'Elsewhere, Home', Saturday 30 June, 16:45 – 17:15.
Kinsi Abdulleh
Kinsi Abdulleh

Kinsi Abdulleh

Kinsi Abdulleh is a visual artist, editor and educator. She is the founder of NUMBI Arts, a London based cross arts and cross cultural non-profit organisation. Rooted in contemporary Somali film, arts and literature, NUMBI Arts is an open archive and on-going forum for shared disaporic experience. Kinsi is the editor and publisher of the literary arts magazine SCARF. Her work as an artist educator focuses on social justice, histories and the female voice. @numbiarts. At Africa Writes 2018, Kinsi speaks at Numbi Arts Presents: The Story of Us by Hanna Ali, Saturday 30 June, 15:30 - 17:00.
Nancy Adimora
Nancy Adimora

Nancy Adimora

Nancy Adimora is the Founding Editor of AFREADA, an online literary magazine featuring short stories from emerging writers across Africa. She recently completed an MSc in Leadership and International Development with the African Leadership Centre at King's College London, and earned her Bachelor in Laws (LLB) from Queen Mary, University of London. Born and raised in London, Nancy remains close to her native Nigeria. She is passionate about social innovation in Africa, and works on partnerships and content creation with the TEDxEuston team. @afreada. At Africa Writes 2018 Nancy speaks at Small Magazines, Literary Networks & Self-Fashioning in Africa and the Diaspora, Sunday 1 July, 12:30-13:45.
Afrikult.
Afrikult.

Afrikult.

Afrikult. is a literary organisation focused on widening access to African literatures. Afrikult. curates and facilitates literary and creative writing workshops for schools and festivals, programme events and partners with leading and grass-root organisations. Afrikult.’s website launched in 2014. In 2018, Afrikult. was awarded Arts Council England grant to deliver its research and development workshop programme in schools, and develop workshops in Kenya. Its latest programme ‘Stories of Home’ is for refugees and asylum-seekers living in London. Run by Marcelle Mateki Akita, Zaahida Nabagereka and supported by Keren Lasme. @afrikult. At Africa Writes 2018 Afrikult. participates in Africa Writes Young Voices Showcase, Saturday 30 June, 09:45-11:30 and Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:30.
Hanna Ali
Hanna Ali

Hanna Ali

Hanna Ali is a Writer, Poet, Project Lead, Frequent Panellist and Teaching Fellow and PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London where she specialises in Afro-Arab identity. Hanna is a former Radio Presenter and was listed as number 4 in Buzz Feed’s “21 Black British Muslims You Should Know About” and was a part of Trailblazing Muslim Women 2018. As a Writer, her collection of Short Stories was published in October 2017 this following on from winning Prizes/being shortlisted in the 2016 London Short Story and 2017 HISSAC Short Story Competitions. She is the Project Lead for Somali Week Festival 2018, which is a 10-day London based festival during London’s Black History Month. Hanna has additionally created and delivered Arts and Cultural events for both London Tower Hamlets Council and London City Hall. Hanna’s Short Story collection The Story of Us can be purchased at marketfiftyfour.com Hanna can be found on Twitter: @HannaAli and Web: hannaali.com. At Africa Writes 2018 Hanna presents her poetry 'The Story of Us' in a Roundtable with Numbi Arts, Saturday 30 June, 15:30-17:00.
Dzifa Appeah
Dzifa Appeah

Dzifa Appeah

Dzifa Appeah is a British Ghanaian-Nigerian children’s book author based in London. She is passionate about writing modern African stories for children. At Africa Writes 2018 Dzifa convenes a Family Storytelling Workshop, Saturday 30 June, 14:00 - 14:45 and 15:30 - 16:15.
Moha Lami Audu
Moha Lami Audu

Moha Lami Audu

Moha Lami Audu has a BA in Fashion Marketing and Retail from Herriot Watt University in Dubai and is currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in Art History at the Open University. He is founder and creative director of fashion brand Mohanista and art director of creative firm MLA. Moha has previously worked at Art Dubai and currently works at Louis Vuitton. At Africa Writes 2018 Moha co-hosts Progressive Pasts: The Afrofuturist Ideologies of Black Panther in Literature, Art and Fashion, Sunday 1 July, 12:00-13:30.
Ifeanyi Awachie
Ifeanyi Awachie

Ifeanyi Awachie

Ifeanyi Awachie has a BA in English from Yale University and an MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries from SOAS. She is founder and chief curator of AFRICA SALON, a platform curating contemporary African arts festivals. Ifeanyi has previously worked at TAFETA, an African art gallery in Fitzrovia, and currently works at the ICA. At Africa Writes 2018 Ifeanyi co-hosts Progressive Pasts: The Afrofuturist Ideologies of Black Panther in Literature, Art and Fashion, Sunday 1 July, 12:00-13:30.
Doreen Baingana
Doreen Baingana

Doreen Baingana

Doreen Baingana’s collection, Tropical Fish, won an AWP Prize, a Commonwealth Prize, and stories in it were nominated twice for the Caine Prize. Among other honours, she has received a Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship and a Rockefeller Bellagio Residency. She has also published two children’s books as well as fiction and essays in numerous international journals; was Managing Editor at Storymoja (Kenya); a Chairperson of FEMRITE (Uganda); and is director of the Mawazo Africa Writing Institute, based in Entebbe, Uganda. At Africa Writes 2018 Doreen chairs 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf is co-founder and publishing director of one of Africa’s leading publishing houses, Cassava Republic Press www.cassavarepublic.biz. She is also an independent scholar with a PhD in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Warwick and is the chair of The Initiative of Equal Rights (TEIRs), the leading sexual minority rights organisation in Nigeria. @CassavaRepublic. At Africa Writes 2018 Bibi speaks at Loving Womxn: Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing, Sunday 1 July, 13:00-14:15.
Books&Rhymes
Books&Rhymes

Books&Rhymes

Books&Rhymes: Bookstagrammer, culture critic, book reviewer, and photographer, Books & Rhymes - also known as Sarah Ozo-Irabor - is deeply vested in disrupting the status quo, as well as moving literary works by under-represented groups from the margins to the centre. Books & Rhymes utilises new media to engage in honest, insightful, and accessible discussions about books and reading culture. She is interested historical & contemporary fiction, essays, and the representation of self and ‘otherness’ in fiction and non-fiction. At Africa Writes 2018 Books&Rhymes as part of Not Another Book Podcast speaks at Books In Your Ears: On Literary Podcasts, Sunday 1 July, 14:00-15:15.
Joanna Brown
Joanna Brown

Joanna Brown

Joanna Brown is the Education and Outreach Programme Manager for the Royal African Society. She designs and manages our cultural education programme Africa Writes: Young Voices, which offers pathways into the wonderful world of African and diaspora literature for young people, creating spaces where they can explore and develop their own writing voices and spoken word performances. Joanna holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and trained to teach at the Institute of Education. At Africa Writes 2018 she chairs a Roundtable discussion Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:30.
Victoria Adukwei Bulley
Victoria Adukwei Bulley

Victoria Adukwei Bulley

Victoria Adukwei Bulley is a poet, writer and filmmaker. An alumna of the Barbican Young Poets, her work has featured in The Poetry Review, Ambit and tonguejournal.org, in addition to being broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour. She was shortlisted for the Brunel University African Poetry Prize 2016, and has held residencies internationally in the US and Brazil, alongside London’s V&A Museum. Her debut pamphlet, Girl B, is part of the 2017 New-Generation African Poets series. Victoria is the director of MOTHER TONGUES, an intergenerational poetry, film and translation project supported by Arts Council England and Autograph ABP. At Africa Writes 2018 Victoria performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Candice Carty-Williams
Candice Carty-Williams

Candice Carty-Williams

Candice Carty-Williams began her career in publishing with a stint in the editorial department of Vintage, then moved to 4th Estate and William Collins marketing where she created and launched the 4th Estate and Guardian BAME Short Story Prize. Candice made the move to Vintage marketing in 2016 and has worked on campaigns including 'The Girls, Bluets, Ordinary People, Kumukanda' and more. She is part of the Penguin Random House Inclusion Committee, and is a WriteNow mentor. Her debut novel 'Queenie' will be published by Orion in March 2019.
Panashe Chigumadzi
Panashe Chigumadzi

Panashe Chigumadzi

Panashe Chigumadzi was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa. In 2016 best-selling debut novel Sweet Medicine (BlackBird Books 2016) won the K Sello Duiker Literary Award (SA). Her work has appeared in titles such as The New York Times (USA), Transition (USA), The Guardian (UK), Die Ziet (Germany) , Spiegel (Germany), City Press (SA) and The Sunday Times (SA). Her essay 'These Bones Will Rise Again', is published 2018 by The Indigo Press. @panashechig. At Africa Writes 2018 she chairs the launch of 'The Hundred Wells Salaga' by Ayesha Harruna Attah, Saturday 30 June, 13:30 -14:00 and also speaks at The Making and Re-making of Zimbabwe, Sunday 1 July, 11:30-12:45.
Emma Dabiri
Emma Dabiri

Emma Dabiri

Listed as one of the BBC's Broadcasting Stars of the future 2017, Emma Dabiri is a presenter, social historian and writer. Emma has previously presented Back in Time for Brixton and the Back in Time Confectioners series (BBC Two), Is Love Racist? (Channel 4) and has done a number of social history films for The One Show (BBC). She currently co-presents Britain’s Lost Masterpieces (BBC4). On radio she has hosted BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review and Front Row and is currently working on her first Radio 4 documentary, an exploration of Afro-futurism. Emma's debut book A History of Hair will be published by Penguin, Allen Lane, in 2019. She is a teaching fellow in the Africa department at SOAS. @EmmaDabiri. At Africa Writes 2018 Emma speaks at African Literary Figures in Georgian & Edwardian London, Saturday 30 June, 14:15 - 15:30.
Chike Edozien
Chike Edozien

Chike Edozien

Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Chiké Frankie Edozien learned to read from the newspapers his father brought home. When he’s not teaching journalism at New York University, where he’s a Clinical Associate Professor and director of the ‘Reporting Africa’ program, he’s travelling across Africa or seeking courtside seats at grand slam tennis tournaments. At Africa Writes 2018 Chike launches his book 'Lives of Great Men', Sunday 1 July, 14:30-15:00.
Nonyelum Ekwempu
Nonyelum Ekwempu

Nonyelum Ekwempu

Nonyelum Ekwempu is a Nigerian writer and visual artist. She grew up in the bustling city of Lagos and in small villages in southwestern and southeastern Nigeria. Her art is inspired by jazz, the African immigrant experience, and the colours and vibrancy of various African cultures. She is currently a medical student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. At Africa Writes 2018 Nonyelum participates in 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is an Igbo and Tamil writer and artist based in liminal spaces. Born and raised in Nigeria, she received her MPA from New York University and was awarded a 2015 Miles Morland Writing Scholarship. She won the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa. Her work has been published in various literary magazines, including Granta. ‘Freshwater’ is her debut novel. At Africa Writes 2018 Akwaeke pre-launches 'Freshwater', Saturday 30 June, 15:45-16:30.
Bernardine Evaristo
Bernardine Evaristo

Bernardine Evaristo

Bernardine Evaristo is the British-Nigerian author of eight books of fiction and verse fiction. She is also a literary critic and Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London. She has founded and co-founded many arts inclusion initiatives including Theatre of Black Women in the 1980s, Spread the Word in the 1990s, The Complete Works poetry scheme in the 2000s, and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize in 2012. She is Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature and an MBE. At Africa Writes 2018 she speaks at the Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
John Gordon
John Gordon

John Gordon

With Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE, John Gordon is co-founder and editor-in-chief of radical queer-of-colour imprint Team Angelica Publishing. Their authors include award-winners gay Somali Muslim Diriye Osman and transwoman elder Roz Kaveney. John is also an award-winning novelist, biographer and screenwriter of black gay lives. His most recent novel, ‘Drapetomania’, a gay neo-slavery narrative, is being called ‘an all-out masterpiece’ (Patrik-Ian Polk, creator, Noah’s Arc). At Africa Writes 2018 John chairs the launch of Chike Edozien's book 'Lives of Great Men', Sunday 1 July, 14:30-15:00.
Stacy Hardy
Stacy Hardy

Stacy Hardy

Stacy Hardy is a writer and an editor at the pan African journal Chimurenga, a founder of Black Ghost Books, and a teacher at Rhodes University, South Africa. Her writing has appeared in a wide range of publications, including Pocko Times, Ctheory, Bengal Lights, Evergreen Review, Drunken Boat, Joyland, Black Sun Lit, and New Orleans Review. A collection of her short fiction, Because the Night, was published by Pocko Books in 2015. She is currently finalising a second collection to be published in 2019, and is also working on a novella. At Africa Writes 2018 Stacy participates in 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Ayesha Harruna Attah
Ayesha Harruna Attah

Ayesha Harruna Attah

Ayesha Harruna Attah is the author of 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-nominated ‘Harmattan Rain’ (Per ANKH), ‘Saturday's Shadows’ (World Editions), and ‘The Hundred Wells of Salaga’ (Cassava Republic Press), forthcoming May 2018. Born in Ghana, she was educated at Mount Holyoke College, Columbia University, and NYU. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Asymptote Magazine, and the Caine Prize Writers’ 2010 Anthology. She was awarded the 2016 Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship for non-fiction. She currently lives in Senegal. @ayeshahattah. At Africa Writes 2018 Ayesha launches her book 'The Hundred Wells of Salaga' Saturday 30 June, 13:30 -14:00.
CaSera Heining aka DJ Ca$h Era
CaSera Heining aka DJ Ca$h Era

CaSera Heining aka DJ Ca$h Era

CaSera Heining - best known as DJ Ca$h Era - is the official DJ for Young Chicago Authors Louder Than A Bomb — Chicago’s largest youth poetry festival, and for Northwestern University Men’s Football and Basketball teams. Graduate of Columbia College, CaSera is a producer at WGN Radio. She has DJed widely at venues including Soho House and Ace Hotel. At Africa Writes 2018 DJ Ca$h Era plays at the festival party, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 – 00:30, Rich Mix.
Afua Hirsch
Afua Hirsch

Afua Hirsch

Afua Hirsch is a Ghanaian British award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster. She was the Guardian correspondent for West Africa, the social affairs editor for Sky News, practised law as a human rights barrister, and worked in development in 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Her first book, Brit(ish) is about Britishness and identity, published in 2018 by Jonathan Cape. She is a council member of the Royal African Society. @afuahirsch. At Africa Writes 2018 she launches her book 'Brit(ish)' and speaks at Mostly Lit LIVE, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:15.
Amina Jama
Amina Jama

Amina Jama

Amina Jama is a Somali-British writer. She was the Roundhouse & BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Words First London finalist, alumni of Barbican Young Poets, co-host of BoxedIN at Boxpark, Shoreditch, and Assistant Tutor for the Roundhouse Poetry Collective. Her work explores displacement, dual cultural identity and family. She has been published in The Things I Would Tell You, a Saqi Books anthology, and Rising Stars children’s anthology by Otter-Barry Books. She has been commissioned by the BBC, The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace, and the London Mayor’s Office. At Africa Writes 2018 Amina performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Jama Musse Jama
Jama Musse Jama

Jama Musse Jama

Jama Musse Jama is an ethnomathematician and author of Somali language and literature. He has a PhD in African Studies specializing in Computational Linguistics of African Languages. A cultural activist, researcher on historical documents, traditional architecture, oral history of Somali society, and their preservation, Dr. Jama is known for his research on African traditional games and their possible use for formal education. He established Hargeysa Cultural Centre. Author or editor of several books and book chapters, Dr. Jama is also the founder and yearly organizer of Hargeysa International Book Fair, one of the most important literature festivals and book celebration in Africa. At Africa Writes 2018 he speaks at Hargeysa International Book Fair Pop-Up, Saturday 30 June, 17:15-18:45.
Danell Jones
Danell Jones

Danell Jones

Danell Jones is a writer, scholar, and teacher. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University where she was awarded a Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities and a Bennett Cerf Award for her writing. She is the author of An African in Imperial London: The Indomitable Life of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor, The Virginia Woolf Writers’ Workshop, and Desert Elegy. At Africa Writes 2018 Danell speaks at African Literary Figures in Georgian & Edwardian London and also launches her book 'An African In Imperial London', Saturday 30 June, 14:15-15:30.
Madhu Krishnan
Madhu Krishnan

Madhu Krishnan

Madhu Krishnan, Senior Lecturer of 20th/21st Century Postcolonial Writing, University of Bristol, is the author of Contemporary African Literature in English: Global Locations, Postcolonial Identifications (2014), Writing Spatiality in West Africa: Colonial Legacies and the Anglophone /Francophone Novel (2018) and Contingent Canons: African Literature and the Politics of Location (2018). She convenes the AHRC Research Network, ‘Small Magazines, Literary Networks and Self-Fashioning in Sub-Saharan Africa’ with Christopher Ouma. At Africa Writes 2018 she speaks at Small Magazines, Literary Networks & Self-Fashioning in Africa and the Diaspora, Sunday 1 July, 12:30-13:45.
Sarah Lasoye
Sarah Lasoye

Sarah Lasoye

Sarah Lasoye is a British-born Nigerian poet and writer based in London. An alumni of the Barbican Young Poets programme, she’s performed at venues from the Southbank Centre and TATE. Her work has been commissioned by St. Paul’s Cathedral, in addition to being featured on BBC Radio 4. Sarah also writes for gal-dem, an online magazine written by women of colour. At Africa Writes 2018 she performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Liv Little
Liv Little

Liv Little

Liv Little is a curator, audio producer, filmmaker and the editor-in-chief of gal-dem, a fledgling media empire ran exclusively by women of colour. It aims to empower and support the creative work of young women of colour through breaking down tired stereotypes and thrusting their work and thoughts into mainstream discussion in a whitewashed media environment. Born and raised in South East London, Little has written for the Guardian, and Wonderland Magazine. She also works in TV and has just finished developing her first scripted comedy pilot. @livlittle. At Africa Writes 2018 Liv speaks at Loving Womxn: Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing, Sunday 1 July, 13:00-14:15.
Theresa Lola
Theresa Lola

Theresa Lola

Theresa Lola is a Nigerian British poet born in 1994. She was shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize 2017, and won the Hammer and Tongue National Poetry Slam in 2017. In 2018 was one of three awarded the 2018 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Theresa is an alumna of the Barbican Young Poets programme. She was awarded an Arts Council/British Council International Development Grant to run poetry workshops at the Lagos International Poetry Festival in Nigeria in 2017. Theresa is part of SXWKS creative collective and Octavia Women of Colour collective which is resident at the Southbank Centre in London. She is currently working on her debut full length poetry collection. At Africa Writes 2018 Theresa performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Rachel Long
Rachel Long

Rachel Long

Rachel Long is founder of Octavia – Poetry Collective for Womxn of Colour, which is housed at Southbank Centre, London. She is Assistant Tutor to Jacob Sam La-Rose on the Barbican Young Poets programme 2015-present. @rachelnalong. At Africa Writes 2018 Rachel performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Sharmaine Lovegrove
Sharmaine Lovegrove

Sharmaine Lovegrove

Sharmaine Lovegrove is the Publisher of Dialogue Books the UK’s only inclusive imprint, part of Little, Brown Book Group and Hachette UK. Prior to going in-house Sharmaine was the Co-Founder and Publishing Director of Dialogue Scouting, the UK’s first book to film & TV scouting consultancy as well as being ELLE’s Literary Editor. Her path is drawn from all things innovative in storytelling and in 2008 Sharmaine set up her own bookshop as well as a creative agency in Berlin having worked previously in PR, bookselling, event management and digital consultancy. Home is London and her roots are Jamaican, she’s proud to be part of the African diaspora and books make her feel part of the world. At Africa Writes 2018 Sharmaine joins Meet the Publishers, Saturday 30 June, 13:45-15:15.
Dzekashu MacViban
Dzekashu MacViban

Dzekashu MacViban

Dzekashu MacViban is a writer, journalist and editor based in Yaoundé. In 2011, he published a collection of poems titled Scions of the Malcontent and founded Bakwa Magazine. After a one year gig at the Ann Arbor Review of Books, he subsequently wrote for Goethe.de/kamerun, The Africa Report, This is Africa and IDG Connect. In 2016, he was a writer-in-residence at the Ebedi International Writers Residency. His fiction has appeared in Wasafiri, Kwani? and Jungle Jim, and received Special Mention for the 2016 Short Story Day Africa Prize. He was formerly Editorial Manager at This is Africa. At Africa Writes 2018 Dzekashu speaks at Books In Your Ears: On Literary Podcasts, Sunday 1 July, 14:00-15:15.
SI Martin
SI Martin

SI Martin

SI Martin works with museums, archives and the education sector to bring diverse histories to wider audiences. He has published five books of historical fiction and non-fiction for adult and teenage readers. He has produced learning programmes, strategies and exhibitions with and for the Black Cultural Archives, National Maritime Museum, the V&A, Tate Britain, London Metropolitan Archives, National Portrait Gallery, The National Archives, RAF Museum, Wellcome Trust and many others. @simartin. At Africa Writes 2018 he speaks at African Literary Figures in Georgian & Edwardian London, Saturday 30 June, 14:15-15:30.
Marcelle Mateki Akita
Marcelle Mateki Akita

Marcelle Mateki Akita

Marcelle Mateki Akita is a writer, co-founder of Afrikult. and blogs on matekiwrites. She works with the Caine Prize for African Writing and co-produces the Africa Writes festival in London. Her fiction has appeared in online and print journals, and published Lizard & Other Stories in 2016. She tweets @matekiwrites. At Africa Writes 2018 Marcelle chaird the book launch of ‘The Hundred Wells of Salag’ by Ayesha Harruna Attah, Saturday 30 June, 13:30 – 14:00.
Momtaza Mehri
Momtaza Mehri

Momtaza Mehri

Momtaza Mehri is a poet and essayist. Born in 1994, her work has been featured in DAZED, Buzzfeed, Vogue, BBC Radio 4, Poetry Society of America, Mask Magazine and Poetry Review. She is a Complete Works Fellow, winner of the 2017 Outspoken Page Poetry Prize and she took third prize in the National Poetry Competition 2018. Her chapbook sugah lump prayer was published by Akashic books/ African Poetry Book Fund in 2017. She also edits Diaspora Drama, a digital platform showcasing international immigrant art. She was awarded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize and became the Young People’s Laureate of London in 2018. At Africa Writes 2018 Momtaza performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Josie Mitchell
Josie Mitchell

Josie Mitchell

Josie Mitchell is an editorial assistant at Granta, the leading magazine of new writing. She reviews books for various publications, including the LA Review of Books, 3AM and the White Review, and translates from the Spanish. At Africa Writes 2018 Sharmaine joins Meet the Publishers, Saturday 30 June, 13:45-15:15.
Layla Mohamed
Layla Mohamed

Layla Mohamed

Layla Mohamed is an editorial assistant at Cassava Republic Press, one of Africa’s leading publishing houses. She studied law at Oxford University and has previously worked at Profile Books. She is an editor at Skin Deep, an online and print magazine or race and culture, and her writing has appeared on their website. At Africa Writes 2018 Layla takes part in Meet the Publishers, Saturday 30 June, 13:45-15:15.
 MostlyLit
MostlyLit

MostlyLit

Join 20-somethings Alex Reads, Reckless Rai and Derek W, presenters of the MostlyLit podcast, in their journey to keep up with the London experience, while exploring the intersection of literature and black culture. Check them out weekly on Soundcloud and iTunes and Spotify Podcast as they discuss key themes in a fun, playful and insightful way. @mostlylit. At Africa Writes 2018 they host Mostly Lit LIVE with Afua Hirsch, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:15.
Mpalive-Hangson Msiska
Mpalive-Hangson Msiska

Mpalive-Hangson Msiska

Mpalive-Hangson Msiska, a Malawian academic, is Programme Director, BA Arts and Humanities and Reader in English and Humanities at Birkbeck College, University of London where he teaches Post-colonial Literatures and interdisciplinary courses. His publications include Post-colonial Identity in Wole Soyinka (2007) and the co-authored Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (2007). He has previously taught at the University of Malawi and Bath Spa University. He is a former council member of The Royal African Society. At Africa Writes 2018 Mpalive chairs the Hargeysa International Book Fair Pop-Up, Saturday 30 June, 17:15 - 18:45.
Zaahida Nabagereka
Zaahida Nabagereka

Zaahida Nabagereka

Zaahida Nabagereka is currently studying for a PhD in African Languages and Cultures at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her research is focusing on literary production processes in Kampala, Uganda. As co-founder of Afrikult. Zaahida is interested in the relationship between politics and literature, and how this often mediates, or in some cases dictates language and form. @ZNabagereka. At Africa Writes 2018, Zaahida speaks at the roundtable Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00 - 13:30.
Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed
Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed is an Independent Consultant and Researcher with international experience in gender and social inclusion across organisations and within large-scale development projects. Zahrah is also the founder and editor of bookshy – a blog dedicated to African literature, the curator of ABC - a visual showcase of African Book Covers, and one-third of the literary podcast Not Another Book Podcast. She holds a BSc in Human and Physical Geography from University of Reading, an MSc in Urbanisation and Development and a PhD in Human Geography and Urban Studies, both from LSE. @bookshybooks. At Africa Writes 2018 Zahrah speaks at Cameroonian Literature 101, Saturday 30 June, 16:30-17:30.
JC Niala
JC Niala

JC Niala

JC Niala is a Theatre maker, researcher and educator. She is the community manager for Africa Women Playwright Network an AHRC funded project hosted by the University of Warwick. In her practice, JC works with the way that theatre can be used as a means of creative expression and also to address issues of social justice. She is keen to develop projects that can help to enrich the way the continent of Africa is encountered in an educational context. At Africa Writes 2018 she speaks at Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:30.
Olufunke Ogundimu
Olufunke Ogundimu

Olufunke Ogundimu

Olufunke Ogundimu was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She has an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has been published in Dream Chasers, Nothing to See Here, Red Rock Review, New Orleans Review, and Transition Magazine. She is working on a short story collection reluctantly titled The Was Thing, and a historical novel set in the twelfth-century Oyo Kingdom, titled Memories of Three Rivers. At Africa Writes 2018 Olufunke participates in 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Irenosen Okojie
Irenosen Okojie

Irenosen Okojie

Irenosen Okojie is a writer and Arts Project Manager. Her debut novel Butterfly Fish won a Betty Trask award and was shortlisted for an Edinburgh International First Book Award. Her work has been featured in The Observer, The Guardian, the BBC and the Huffington Post amongst other publications. Her short stories have been published internationally. She was presented at the London Short Story Festival by Ben Okri as a dynamic writing talent to watch and was featured in the Evening Standard Magazine as one of London’s exciting new authors. Her short story collection Speak Gigantular, published by Jacaranda Books was shortlisted for the Edgehill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Saboteur Awards and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. At Africa Writes 2018 Irenosen chairs the pre-launch of Akwaeke Emezi's 'Freshwater', Saturday 30 June, 15:45-16:30.
Makena Onjerika
Makena Onjerika

Makena Onjerika

Makena Onjerika is a graduate of the MFA Creative Writing programme at New York University, and has been published in Urban Confustions and Wasafiri. She lives in Nairobi, Kenya, and is currently working on a fantasy novel. At Africa Writes 2018 Makena participates in 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Martin Orwin
Martin Orwin

Martin Orwin

Martin Orwin is a Senior Lecturer in Somali and Amharic at SOAS, where he has taught since 1992. He studied Arabic and Amharic as an undergraduate at SOAS and he then went on to obtain a PhD in the phonology of Somali. He has published widely on, and has carried out pioneering research on Somali language and poetry. He is author of Colloquial Somali: A Complete Language Course. (Routledge, 1995). At Africa Writes 2017 he speaks at Hargeysa International Book Fair Pop-Up, Saturday 30 June, 17:15 - 18:45.
Deirdre Osborne
Deirdre Osborne

Deirdre Osborne

Deirdre Osborne is a Reader in English Literature and Drama at Goldsmiths University of London. She co-convenes the MA Black British Writing and teaches undergraduate modules on Shakespeare, Cultural Theory, Feminism, Modernism and Postmodernism. Her research interests span late-Victorian literature and maternity, to Landmark Poetics, mixedness, adoption aesthetics and Black writing. Publications include: editor of the first Cambridge Companion to British Black and Asian Literature (1945-2010) (2016) and she is Associate Editor of the scholarly journal Women's Writing (Taylor and Francis). At Africa Writes 2018 she speaks at Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:15.
Hibaq Osman
Hibaq Osman

Hibaq Osman

Hibaq Osman is a Somali writer born and based in London. Her work centres women, identity and the healing process. Her focus is on the hidden aspects of life and how we can bring the unspoken to the forefront of our minds and mouths. Her debut poetry collection A Silence You Can Carry was published with Out-Spoken Press in 2015. As a member of OCTAVIA - a fantastic group of women of colour poets - Hibaq works towards a future where funding and access to the arts for Black people across the board is the norm and not an exception. At Africa Writes 2018 Hibaq performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.
Christopher Ouma
Christopher Ouma

Christopher Ouma

Christopher Ouma holds a Doctorate from the Department of African Literature at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Cape Town. His research and teaching interests include the broader field of contemporary African and African Diasporic literary and cultural production. He is interested in African popular culture, black print cultures particularly small magazines, literary journals and literary periodicals. He has held fellowships at the Open University, Milton Keynes London and University of the Johannesburg. He has co-edited The Spoken Word Project: Stories Travelling through Africa, and recently co-edited a special issue of The Black Scholar titled “After Madiba: Black Studies in South Africa.” He has published a number of books chapters as we as articles in Research in African Literatures, East African Literary and Cultural Studies, Matatu, Kunapipi amongst others. He is currently co-editor of the Journal Social Dynamics: A Journal of African Studies. He is currently finishing a monograph on the imagination of childhood in contemporary African and African Diasporic literature. At Africa Writes 2018 Christopher speaks at Small Magazines, Literary Networks & Self-Fashioning in Africa and the Diaspora, Sunday 1 July, 12:30 – 13:45.
Ranka Primorac
Ranka Primorac

Ranka Primorac

Ranka Primorac teaches African Literature at the Department of English, University of Southampton, UK. She lived and studied in Zimbabwe for nine years, and she has written widely about Zimbabwe’s literature and culture; her book 'The Place of Tears' is a benchmark publication in the area of Southern African literary and cultural studies. Together with Stephanie Newell, she edits the Boydell and Brewer monograph series African Articulations. At Africa Writes 2018 Ranka chairs The Making and Re-making of Zimbabwe, Sunday 1 July, 11:30-12:45.
Wole Talabi
Wole Talabi

Wole Talabi

Wole Talabi is a Nigerian full-time engineer, part-time writer and some-time editor with a fondness for science fiction and fantasy. His stories have appeared in publications including Terraform, Omenana, Liquid Imagination, and The Kalahari Review. He edited These Words Expose Us, the anthology of Nigerian blog-site, The Naked Convos. He currently lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He enjoys good stories and goes scuba diving whenever he gets the chance. At Africa Writes 2018 Wole participates in 2018 Caine Prize Conversation, Saturday 30 June, 17:30 – 18:45.
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma is the author of the novel 'House of Stone' (Atlantic Books, UK, June 2018, W. W. Norton, USA, January 2019). In 2017, she was a resident fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center which supported work on her novel. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (2015), where she was a Maytag Fellow and a recipient of a Rydson Award for Excellence in Fiction, she is a native of Zimbabwe, and has lived in South Africa and the USA. Shadows, her short story collection, was published to critical acclaim by Kwela in South Africa (2013) and awarded the 2014 Herman Charles Bosman Prize for the best literary work in English. Novuyo’s writing has been featured in numerous anthologies, most recently ‘The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives,’ edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen. She is a former Deputy Editor at Jalada Africa, and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of The Bare Life Review, a journal of refugee and immigrant literature based in New York. www.novuyotshuma.com. At Africa Writes 2018 Novuyo speaks at The Making and Re-making of Zimbabwe and also launches her book 'House of Stone', Sunday 1 July, 11:30-12:45.
Aki Schilz
Aki Schilz

Aki Schilz

Aki Schilz is the Director of The Literary Consultancy, the UK’s longest running editorial consultancy for writers. She is co-founder of the #LossLit digital literature project and the founder of the #BookJobTransparency campaign. Aki’s writing has been selected for the Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Best Small Fictions and the Wigleaf Top 50, and has won the Visual Verse and Bare Fiction Flash Fiction prizes. In 2018 she was selected as one of the FutureBook 40. @TLCUK @AkiSchilz. At Africa Writes 2018 Aki chairs Meet the Publishers, Saturday 13:45-15:15.
Farrah Serroukh
Farrah Serroukh

Farrah Serroukh

An experienced teacher and senior leader, Farrah Serroukh taught in challenging inner London primary schools across all phases before moving into senior management where she led in all aspects of Literacy, EAL, EMA and Inclusion. Farrah has an MA in Bilingualism in Education. A past contributor to the NALDIC magazine, Farrah's key interests include ethnic minority achievement, language acquisition and children’s literature. Farrah is the Learning Programmes Leader at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education and is responsible for the development and design of the Professional Development Programme, coordinating the partnership and regional work, as well as, leading on the Reflecting Realities Research Initiative. At Africa Writes 2018 Farrah speaks at Why African Literature Matters, Saturday 30 June, 12:00-13:30.
Warsan Shire
Warsan Shire

Warsan Shire

Warsan Shire is a Somali-British writer and poet. Her debut pamphlet, ‘Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth’ was published in 2011. Shire was awarded the inaugural African Poetry Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was appointed as the first Young Poet Laureate for London and was selected as Poet in Residence for Queensland, Australia. In 2016, she provided the film adaption and poetry for Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade. At Africa Writes 2018 she speaks to Sheila Ruiz about her work, process and inspiration at Warsan Shire in Conversation, Sunday 1 July, 17:30-18:45.
Yomi Sode
Yomi Sode

Yomi Sode

Yomi Sode is a Nigerian British writer, performer and facilitator. Shortlisted for a Jerwood Compton 2017 Poetry Fellowship, his show COAT has been programmed at the Southbank Centre and Roundhouse to sold-out audiences. His writing has been published in Rialto Magazine, Bare lit and 10: Poets of the New Generation. At Africa Writes 2018 Yomi performs COAT on the opening evening, Friday 29 June, 20:00 -21:00.
Ade Solanke
Ade Solanke

Ade Solanke

Ade Solanke is a playwright, screenwriter, and founder of Spora Stories, creating plays and films about the African diaspora. She has an MFA in Film from the University of Southern California where she was a Fulbright Scholar. She lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich. Her award-winning plays include the acclaimed 'Pandora's Box', which won a Best New Play nomination in the Off West End Theatre Awards and was shortlisted for the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, Africa’s biggest literary award. Ade’s new play, The Court Must Have a Queen, is on at Hampton Court Palace from July 2018 and features John Blanke, an African Musician in the courts of Henry V11 and Henry V111. Her drama, Phillis in London, about Phillis Wheatley, the enslaved teenage prodigy who in 1773 published the first collection of poetry by an African, will premiere in 2019. She’s also working on scripts about other artists in sixties Notting Hill and nineties LA. @sporastories. At Africa Writes 2018 Ade speaks at African Literary Figures in Georgian & Edwardian London, Saturday 30 June, 14:15-15:30.
Eloise Stevens
Eloise Stevens

Eloise Stevens

Eloise Stevens is a writer and audio producer, currently based in London. She holds a degree in French and Portuguese literature from Oxford University, which is where she fell in love with both radio and poetry. She has made features and documentaries for BBC Radio 4, ABC RN, and The British Library among others, and has just spent three years in Mumbai making audio guides. Her debut poetry collection, The Beat of Beast, was shortlisted for The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective prize and the Melita Hume prize. She is currently working on her first novel, and the audio-print publication RadioBook Rwanda. AW2018: Small Magazines & Books In Your Ears
Ruth Sutoyé
Ruth Sutoyé

Ruth Sutoyé

Ruth Sutoyé is a poet, facilitator, creative producer and visual artist. She is a Barbican Young Poet alumni and member of the SXWKS collective. Her work has been featured in publications including Opus, True Africa, Bad Betty Press and Buzzfeed. Ruth is a Roundhouse Resident Artist and one of London’s Boat Poets in Residence with Thames Festival Trust. Having performed across the UK and abroad, she has graced stages including Lagos International Poetry Festival and Hope College, USA. At Africa Writes 2018 Ruth facilitated Young Voices workshops, showcased at Africa Writes Young Voices Showcase, Saturday 30 June, 9:45 - 11:30.
Wangui wa Goro
Wangui wa Goro

Wangui wa Goro

Dr Wangui wa Goro, founder and curator for SIDENSI has served as a public intellectual, translator, editor, writer, academic, social researcher and human rights campaigner in Africa, USA and Europe over the last thirty years. In addition to promoting translation, Wangui, who works as an editor in an international organisation is also a writer in her own right. Her works include poetry, short stories, fiction and non-fiction. has served in many international literary bodies and journals and also as a jury for a number of literary prizes. She is the current president of the Association for the Promotion of translation in relation to Africa (ALTRAS) and sits on the Executive Committee of IATIS (International Association for translation and intercultural Studies). She was the founder member of TRACALA, the Translation Caucus of the African Literature Association. She has run the Africa in Translation at Africa Writes for several years. At Africa Writes 2018 Wangui leads Africa in Translation Masterclass, Sunday 1 July, 14:30-16:30.
Dr Marion Wallace
Dr Marion Wallace

Dr Marion Wallace

Dr Marion Wallace is Lead Curator, Africa at the British Library. She is a member of SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Southern African Studies, and has previously worked at the UK National Archives. Marion co-curated the British Library’s major exhibition on West Africa (2015–2016), and publishes on subjects including the history of Namibia, West African themes, and the impact of digitisation on African Studies. www.bl.uk/people/experts/marion-wallace. At Africa Writes 2018 Marion introduces the event African Literary Figures in Georgian & Edwardian London, Saturday 30 June, 14:15 - 15:30.
Kate Wallis
Kate Wallis

Kate Wallis

Kate Wallis is Lecturer in World Literatures in the Department of English at the University of Exeter. She is currently working on a monograph building on her doctoral research on pan-African literary networks. Her work has been published in Wasafiri and is forthcoming in Research in African Literatures. She is a Director of Huza Press and co-founder of africainwords.com. She was Producer of the Africa Writes festival in London in 2015 and Associate Producer of the 2017 Africa Writes Bristol Pop-Up. At Africa Writes 2018 Kate speaks at Small Magazines, Literary Networks & Self-Fashioning in Africa and the Diaspora, Sunday 1 July, 12:30-13:45 and also chairs Books In Your Ears: On Literary Podcasts, Sunday 1 July, 14:00-15:00.
Belinda Zhawi
Belinda Zhawi

Belinda Zhawi

Belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean born writer, educator. Belinda was a 2015/16 London Laureate (shortlistee for Young People’s Laureate for London) & the 2016/17 Institute of Contemporary Arts Associate Poet. She’s co-founder & host of the bi-monthly poetry social, BORN::FREE. She’s currently based in London, working on her debut pamphlet forthcoming in 2018 on ignitionpress. At Africa Writes 2018 Belinda performs as part of Octavia Poetry Collective at Africa Writes Party 2018 The Year of the Womxn, Saturday 30 June, 20:00 - 00:30.