Full schedule, with information about all the weekend’s sessions and events
june
Event Details
A welcome and introduction by the Director of the Royal African Society, Richard Dowden.
Event Details
A welcome and introduction by the Director of the Royal African Society, Richard Dowden.
Time
(Saturday) 12:00 pm - 12:15 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Ellah Allfrey, Deputy Editor of Granta magazine, leads Ghanaian author B. Kojo Laing in conversation, discussing new writing in Africa and setting the scene for the festival. B. Kojo Laing is
Event Details
Ellah Allfrey, Deputy Editor of Granta magazine, leads Ghanaian author B. Kojo Laing in conversation, discussing new writing in Africa and setting the scene for the festival.
B. Kojo Laing is acknowledged as one of the great literary innovators of the past 25 years. Flamboyantly inventive, learned, ironic, whimsical, political in the widest sense, his work challenges received notions of literary technique as well as the tame demarcation ‘African literature’. This conversation will explore the author’s literary influences and his personal innovation in a discussion of the novel and the emerging narratives, from the continent and its diaspora, that give expression to the contemporary African experience.
Time
(Saturday) 12:15 pm - 1:00 am(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Book launch with author Lily Mabura, chaired by Fiammetta Rocco (Literary Editor, The Economist). An artist in mourning for a brother who died fighting in
Event Details
Book launch with author Lily Mabura, chaired by Fiammetta Rocco (Literary Editor, The Economist).
An artist in mourning for a brother who died fighting in Bosnia, a restless young woman alerted to the possibility of life outside her tight knit community, an unemployed lawyer lingering in a Kenyan hospital – Lily Mabura’s first collection of short stories deals with characters whose fates fascinate and alarm. Set in Kenya, the USA, Namibia and the Congo, these brief, evocative tales demonstrate an acute sensitivity to the globalised trajectories, which increasingly distinguish our world. One of Kenya’s most promising authors, Lily Mabura’s short story How Shall We Kill the Bishop? was shortlisted for the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing.
Time
(Saturday) 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Suite
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Book launch with author EE Sule, chaired by Dr Mpalive Msiska (Reader in English & Humanities, Birkbeck College). As the gifted young Murtala comes of
Event Details
Book launch with author EE Sule, chaired by Dr Mpalive Msiska (Reader in English & Humanities, Birkbeck College).
As the gifted young Murtala comes of age in Kano, violent riots and his family’s own woes threaten to erase all he holds dear. Stalked by monsters real and imagined, desperate to preserve a sense of self and the future, Murtala hunts for answers in the wreckage of the city and gives us a unique insight into modern life in northern Nigeria. Mould-breaking in its tackling of religious conflict, this extraordinary first novel offers a powerful portrait of an African community in shock and transition.
Time
(Saturday) 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Suite
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Meet the 2012 Caine Prize Shortlisted writers, chaired by Tricia Wombell (Black Book News/Black Reading Group) and Jacqueline Auma (London Afro-Caribbean Book Club). The shortlisted
Event Details
Meet the 2012 Caine Prize Shortlisted writers, chaired by Tricia Wombell (Black Book News/Black Reading Group) and Jacqueline Auma (London Afro-Caribbean Book Club).
The shortlisted writers are: Rotimi Babatunde, Billy Kahora, Stanley Kenani, Melissa Tandiwe Myambo, and Constance Myburgh. Their short stories are available to read online on the Caine Prize’s website and will be published with the 2012 workshop stories in the annual Caine Prize anthology ‘African Violet and Other Stories’ in June 2012 by New Internationalist. The anthology will be on sale at this event. You can read more about the five shortlisted writers on the speakers page.
Time
(Saturday) 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Book launch with author Nuruddin Farah, chaired by Richard Dowden (Director, RAS) Nuruddin Farah is one of Africa’s most highly acclaimed international writers and a
Event Details
Book launch with author Nuruddin Farah, chaired by Richard Dowden (Director, RAS)
Nuruddin Farah is one of Africa’s most highly acclaimed international writers and a key voice from contemporary Somalia. In his new novel, Crossbones, Jeebleh returns to Mogadishu with his journalist son-in-law Malik. Meanwhile, Jeebleh’s brother, Ahl, searches for his stepson in Puntland – the region notorious as a pirates’ base. What they find is a country ruled by an uneasy calm between one battle and the next. Crossbones is a fascinating look at individuals caught in the maw of zealotry, profiteering and political conflict.
Time
(Saturday) 5:00 pm - 5:45 am(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Suite
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
The lecture will be introduced by James Currey (Chairman, Currey Publishers Ltd) and Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd) and chaired by Ike
Event Details
The lecture will be introduced by James Currey (Chairman, Currey Publishers Ltd) and Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd) and chaired by Ike Anya (co-founder, TEDxEuston).
Marking the 50th anniversary of the African Writers Series, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Africa’s foremost young novelist, will be giving tribute to the African women writers who have inspired her and speak about the African Writers Series books she read as a child. This event will be followed by a reception.
*Attendance by RSVP only:http://africawrites2012.eventbrite.co.uk.
Time
(Saturday) 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
july
Event Details
Book launch led by Christopher Okigbo’s daughter, Obiageli Okigbo (Founder, the Christopher Okigbo Foundation), chaired by Lynette Lisk (Commissioning Editor, Pearson). Christopher Okigbo’s words have
Event Details
Book launch led by Christopher Okigbo’s daughter, Obiageli Okigbo (Founder, the Christopher Okigbo Foundation), chaired by Lynette Lisk (Commissioning Editor, Pearson).
Christopher Okigbo’s words have often been described as prophetic and have inspired generations of writers in Nigeria and beyond. This extraordinary and powerful collection of interlinked poems, first published in 1971, showcases his rare talent. Each poem draws the reader into an arresting world of myth and intense contemplation. Killed during the Biafran conflict aged only 35, Okigbo says of these sequences that they amount to “a fable of man’s perennial quest for fulfilment”.
Time
(Sunday) 12:00 am - 12:30 am(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Interactive story-telling for children aged 4-10 with Miso’shi (story-teller from Ghana). Gather around, huddle together and listen to wondrous, fun-filled stories brought to life by Misoshi.
Event Details
Interactive story-telling for children aged 4-10 with Miso’shi (story-teller from Ghana).
Gather around, huddle together and listen to wondrous, fun-filled stories brought to life by Misoshi. Expect to interact with movement, dance and song. Parents welcome too.
Time
(Sunday) 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Suite
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Panel discussion with Margaret Busby (writer, editor, critic, consultant and broadcaster), Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd), and James Currey (Founder, James Currey
Event Details
Panel discussion with Margaret Busby (writer, editor, critic, consultant and broadcaster), Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd), and James Currey (Founder, James Currey – an imprint of Boydell & Brewer). Chaired by Wangui Wa Goro (translator, editor and writer).
The publishing landscape for contemporary African literature in the UK is a far cry from what it was 50 years ago when the African Writers Series was founded. There has been a steady move towards a more inclusive approach by some mainstream publishing houses who have opened their doors to African and other minority writers. There has also been a stable rise of independent, black, indigenous and women’s publishers, which has helped to put African writers on the map. But are we moving to a fairer and more accessible publishing system for both African writers and their readers? This rich panel of experts will discuss what they see as the main challenges and opportunities facing the publishing of African Literature today. They will explore the place of prizes, book fairs, conferences, and festivals; ask what can be done to develop the publishing infrastructure in Africa; look at publishing in a historical context and look to the future of the industry, acknowledging the emergence of print on demand, e-books and e-readers, international partnerships, and other initiatives.
Time
(Sunday) 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Ellen Banda-Aaku, Goretti Kyomuhendo and Noo Saro-Wiwa discuss the implications of living in the Diaspora and writing about ‘Home’, chaired by Hannah Pool (journalist, author and curator).
Event Details
Ellen Banda-Aaku, Goretti Kyomuhendo and Noo Saro-Wiwa discuss the implications of living in the Diaspora and writing about ‘Home’, chaired by Hannah Pool (journalist, author and curator).
Increasingly, many African writers live and work in the Diaspora. There is also a growing number of writers born in the UK or elsewhere who choose to write about Africa. The panellists in this session will attempt to address the following questions and more: As African writers living in the Diaspora, who do they write for? Who is their audience and what is their market? Are there common themes in the literature produced by migrant African writers? Has the emergence of Diasporic African literature eclipsed writing from the continent to some extent? Does the difficulty of publishing within Africa mean that we will only learn about contemporary African experiences as the Diaspora mediates them? What is the relationship between writers living in Africa and those in the Diaspora? What kind of connections and initiatives are emerging on an individual and industry level towards the sharing of skills, experiences and improving publishing prospects?
Time
(Sunday) 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Event Details
Malawian-born poet, university lecturer and former Amnesty prisoner of conscience Jack Mapanje talks about his memoir with Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd).
Event Details
Malawian-born poet, university lecturer and former Amnesty prisoner of conscience Jack Mapanje talks about his memoir with Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE (Founder, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd).
In 1981, Jack Mapanje was a budding poet and scholar in Malawi. His first collection of poetry, Of Chameleons and Gods, had just been published in the prestigious Heinemann African Writers Series and his scholarly work in linguistics was drawing international attention. But two years later the state ordered the withdrawal of Mapanje’s poetry from all schools, universities and bookstores. In 1987, Mapanje was arrested by the Malawian secret police and imprisoned without charge until 1991. This memoir represents Mapanje’s retrospective attempt to explain the cause and terms of his imprisonment and the daily struggle to hold on to some measure of sanity and spiritual freedom. It is a forceful indictment of corrupt government and its capacity to wreck lives and whole societies. This book is also a fitting tribute to the solidarity, dedication and tenacity of the British and international campaign that secured Mapanje’s release and saved his life.
Time
(Sunday) 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm(GMT+00:00)
Location
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG