Africa Writes 2021: Dates, Themes & Call for Ideas

**Dates for Africa Writes 2021 have now moved to 4 – 24 October**

Due to external factors, the festival has moved from September to October. This webpage has been updated with the new dates.

 

Africa Writes festival returns for the month of October!

We are returning with a blended virtual and in-person programme from 4 – 24 October hosted online, at 180 The Strand and  The British Library.

This year marks the ninth – and first biennial – edition of Africa Writes. Given the past year we’ve all endured, this year’s festival will be centred around the themes of Imagination, Pleasure and Activism.

Africa Writes will partner with festival organisers on the African continent to co-curate a series of events as part of the British Council’s Digital Collaboration Fund. African festival partners confirmed are Pa Gya! Literary Festival in Ghana, Kaduna Book and Arts Festival in Nigeria and Afroqueer podcast in Kenya.

This year will also see the second edition of the Lifetime Achievement in African Literature Award, which will be announced during the course of the festival.

We have opened our call for ideas for you to submit ideas or books you would like to see featured in this year’s festival. The call will be open from Tuesday, 16 February until Wednesday, 3 March at 12:00 (GMT). Please ensure your idea meets the themes of this year. The form takes approximately between 10 to 20 minutes to complete.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA FOR 2021 (Applications are now closed)

We aim to let successful applicants know by late April 2021. If your submission is not considered for the 2021 festival we will send an email to confirm this, though given our small team and limited resources we will not be responding to individual applicants or provide any feedback.

Thank you for your continuous support of the festival, we look forward to celebrating African literature with you later in the year!

**quick update: we are currently working on the programme and will be letting applicants know the result of their submitted ideas in August**

 

Image credit: Ivan Gonzalez

 


 

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