Africa Writes – Exeter 2022 Programme

17 – 19 June 2022

 www.africawrites.org/exeter/

From Friday 17 June to Sunday 19 June 2022 we’ll be celebrating contemporary literature and thought from Africa and the African diaspora with a series of book launches, conversations, performances and workshops online and in Exeter.

Africa Writes is the UK’s leading platform curating the best contemporary African and African diaspora writing. As part of Exeter’s UNESCO City of Literature programme, we’ve been working to establish an Exeter-based edition of the festival. This launched in 2020 with the Africa Writes – Exeter digital book club, and now returns with an exciting literary weekend offering a blended programme of online and in-person events.

Africa Writes – Exeter is brought to you by the Royal African Society and Saseni! working in partnership with the University of Exeter, local independent bookshop Bookbag and Roots Resistance.

Friday 17 June 2022

Writing Mothers and Daughters: Yewande Omotoso and Okwiri Oduor in Conversation
Time: 16:00 – 17:00 (BST)
Location: Crowdcast
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Join two of the most exciting voices shaping contemporary African literature for a conversation discussing the complex and entangled mother-daughter relationships in their novels.

Wahala: Nikki May in conversation with Kadija Sesay George
Time: 18:00 – 19:00 (BST)
Location: Bookbag
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Join Nikki May, author of Wahala (Doubleday, 2022), in conversation with Kadija Sesay George.

An Evening of Poetry hosted by Roots Resistance
Time: 20:00 – 22:30 (BST)
Location: Exeter Phoenix
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Featuring Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Kadija Sesay George, Al- Saddiq al-Raddi with Bryar Bajalan & Nour Khairi. The evening will finish with an Open Mic session.

Saturday 18 June 2022

Adanko Writing Workshop with Nii Ayikwei Parkes (for 8-12 years)
Time: 10:30 – 12:00 (BST)
Location: Exeter Central Library
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

A poetry writing workshop with Nii Ayikwei Parkes for 8-12 year-olds to explore their poetic voice.

an/other pastoral with Tjawangwa Dema and No Bindings
Time: 15:00 – 16:15 (BST)
Location: Exeter Phoenix
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Tjawangwa Dema reads from her latest collection. Followed by an in conversation with Tjawangwa Dema and Lily Green of No Bindings chaired by Louisa Adjoa Parker.

Writing the South West: Karla Neblett in Conversation with Zakiya McKenzie
Time: 17:00 – 18:00 (BST)
Location: Bookbag
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Karla Neblett, author of King of Rabbits, talks to Zakiya McKenzie about writing the south west.

Extraordinary Colours and Striking Forms: Irenosen Okojie in Conversation with Billy Kahora
Time: 19:00 – 20:30 (BST)
Location: Exeter Phoenix & Zoom
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Don’t miss AKO Caine Prize winner Okojie in conversation with Billy Kahora about the form of the short story and its creative possibilities, as they explore her latest collection Nudibranch (Dialogue, 2020) and her writing trajectories.

Sunday 19 June 2022

Rhyme and Rhythm – The Art of Rap: Workshop hosted by Roots Resistance 
Time: 17:30 – 19:30 (BST)
Location: Exeter Phoenix 
Tickets: FREE – register via Eventbrite

Join rapper Silai Estatira for a collaborative workshop for 16-24 year olds exploring rap music through a look to some of the genre’s best story tellers : MF Doom, Lupe Fiasco & Nas.

 

Africa Writes – Exeter has been supported by funding from University of Exeter’s International Institute for Cultural Enquiry and the College of Humanities.