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Five #StayAtHome Baking Projects Inspired by African Novels

Though lockdown orders have started to lift in certain areas, COVID-19 shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Our advice? Stay at home and try your hand at these baking projects inspired by some of our favorite African novels. Below, we’ve selected a handful of quotes that describe a particular sweet and provided a […]

Statement: African Authors Sans Frontieres in Solidarity with African-Americans

As African writers without borders who are connected beyond geography with those who live in the United States of America and other parts of the African diaspora, we state that we condemn the acts of violence on Black people in the United States of America. We note in dismay that what Malcolm X said in […]

Dawn of Darkness | by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o | Poetry

Knowing we are currently in a pandemic, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o graciously wrote this poem and would like it to be shared widely. We hope it brings you comfort. The poem was written on March 23, 2020. Read it and share! *** I know, I know, It threatens the common gestures of human bonding The handshake, […]

Celebrating Mariama Bâ | “The Flavor of Life is Love”

Bâ would’ve been the grand old age of 91 today. She is best known for her epistolary novel SO LONG A LETTER (UNE SI LONGUE LETTRE), published in 1979. The novel, which critiques polygamous practices, won the first Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. However, less than a year after accepting the prize and giving […]

The 2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize is Now Open for Entry

Apply for the 2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize

The Aspen Words Literary Prize is open for entry as of today. The $35,000 prize annually rewards an “influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.” The prize is open to novels and short story collections from writers of any nationality, addressing […]

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Features, Lit Scene, News July 8, 2020

July 10 | Sarah Ladipo Manyika Hosts Strive Masiyiwa on Conversations Across the Diaspora

July 10 _ Sarah Ladipo Manyika Hosts Strive Masiyiwas on Conversations Across the Diaspora

Sarah Ladipo Manyika, author of In Dependence (2008) and Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun (2016), has teamed up with The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) to host an interactive series called Conversations Across the Diaspora. This Friday, July 10 at 12:00 noon Pacific Daylight Time, Manyika welcomes her second guest in the […]

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Features, Lit Scene, News July 8, 2020

Bernardine Evaristo Becomes First Black Writer to Win Author of the Year

Bernardine Evaristo’s winning streak continues as she dominates two categories of the 2020 British Book Awards: Best Fiction Book of the Year for Girl, Woman, Other (2019) and Best Author of the Year. She is the first Black author to win Best Author of the Year, the first Black woman and second Nigerian to win […]

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Features, News July 8, 2020

Apply for the 2020 Morland Writing Scholarship | £27,000 for Nonfiction, £18,000 Fiction

Apply for the 2020 Miles Morland Writing Scholarship

The Miles Morland Foundation is currently accepting applications for the 2020 Morland African Writing Scholarships. The awards offer a fiction scholarship of £18,000 to two, three or four writers, paid over the course of twelve months, and a nonfiction scholarship of £27,000 to a single writer, paid over the course of eighteen months to enable […]

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Features July 8, 2020

The Million Naira Nigeria Prize for Difference and Diversity | Here is How to Nominate Someone

Nominations for The Nigeria Prize for Difference & Diversity is officially open. The new prize, co-presented by digital media platform Ynaija.com and Chude Jideonwo, is “dedicated to identifying and celebrating people championing difference, diversity, inclusion, and immediate impact on the African continent.” As stated in the press release: The Nigeria Prize for Difference and Diversity […]

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Features July 8, 2020

This is Why I am Endowing a N1 Million Prize for Difference and Diversity in Nigeria | Chude Jideonwo

Last year, I wrote a piece on CNN during Pride Month—a month set aside to celebrate sexual and gender diversity globally—to spotlight the progress Africa is making overall (though not fast enough) on the matter of LGBTQ rights. It was not the first piece I had written on the matter. I consider it the number-one […]

Derek Owusu Awarded 2020 Desmond Elliot Prize

British author of Ghanaian heritage Derek Owusu has been awarded the 2020 Desmond Elliot Prize for his debut novel That Reminds Me, a moving, coming-of-age story about a young, black Londoner named K, dealing with issues of mental health, identity, sexuality and violence. The novel was selected winner from an exciting shortlist of black writers. […]

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Features, Lit Scene, News July 6, 2020

My Sister, The Serial Killer Wins Crime Fiction Book of the Year

Oyinkan Braithwaite’s comic crime thriller, My Sister, The Serial Killer (2018), has won the 2020 British Book Award for Crime Fiction Book of the Year. The British Book Awards, also known as the Nibbies, are administered by the book trade magazine, The Bookseller. Each year, the magazine awards prizes for Books of the Year in several […]

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