What did your favourite literary person do on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook recently? Like in our first volume in the series, we went through some timelines to bring you what they were up to.

E.C. Osondu Criticizes Prizes Run by “Professional Literary Hustlers”

The post in full:

When you hand over an important prize to professional literary hustlers, expect nothing but a downward slide into an incredibly shrinking prize.

The late Binyavanga Wainana, astute as always, was right. We as Africans must begin to claim ownership of our stories, narratives, prizes, awards, festivals, venues etc.

Our mantra going forward should be- For Africans, By Africans- FABA.

Years ago, Chimamanda Adichie, said that the more interesting stories she read that year was from a different quarter, many were puzzled.

Adichie was right. Sometimes an elephant births a mouse.

The most interesting contest short story from Africa I read this year was “Ghana Boy” by Frances Ogamba.

So raw, so heartbreaking, so true. It does what the best fiction does, it swallows you, chews you up and spits you out transformed and beatified. Praise Be. Hallelujah.

Down with pandering derivative stories and those who midwife and champion them. Africa may be considered poor by some, we may have many problems, but stories and storytelling is not one of our problems. Storytelling is to us what swimming is to fish, a liquid state, our natural habitat and our ecology.

My short story “Waiting” remains the most homaged, imitated, mimicked, aped, simulated, etc etc. You get the idea.

There is Writivism Literary Initiative..I know.

There is Storyday Africa…I know.

There is Ake..I know.

We should have more. Our name should be Legion.

There is this thing that bothers me. We are only allowed a place in the literary world as Africans if we accept to be one thing and one thing only. We can and should be writers of Graphic Novels, Crime Fiction and even writers of uncategorizable genres and non- genre conforming works.

One love.

Las, las, we all gonna be alright.

Nnedi Okorafor Clarifies Reports That Shuri Was Cancelled, Says She Opted Out

The PublisHer Event in Nairobi

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf on the Mis-categorisation and Mis-praising of Books by Black Writers

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf on Publishing House Faber & Faber’s New Book

Ellah Wakatama Allfrey on People Asking Permission to Appropriate

In Light of the COZA Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo’s Rape Scandal, Chika Unigwe and TY Bello Share #MeToo Stories

Read the full report here.

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I remember how the silence I had to keep after the abuse slowly killed me .. I also remember the relief I found in my relationship God so early .That really was my rescue ..yet for decades I could never find my voice on the matter .. I was still afraid ..Mostly because I felt it may have been the fault of my seven year old self ..somehow.. Fast forward .. almost thirty years later ..I knew better .. and was ‘big’ enough .. I understood the importance of stepping up when it was time to share my story .. and ..I did in my @kemiadetiba ‘s #kingwomen interview .. it surprised me however,how hard it was to talk about sexual abuse after so many years .. but it was such a relief ..But soon after came the resistance .. In sharing ..I faintly began tasting the shame again .. that same feeling of naked ‘dirtiness ‘’ I had as a child .. it hadn’t completely gone away .It also became clear .. that real stories of sexual abuse still sounded like NOVELTY.. I saw headline after headline .. even in broken English .. this my ‘confession ‘.that ‘ Dem ‘SPOIL ‘ me when I be small pikin’.. It didn’t feel good that it was so ‘sensational’ as I was aware of how massive a plague this was ..WE CLEARLY ARE NOT TALKING ENOUGH ..too many children sexually abused .. too many sex crimes ..especially now .. right under our noses . I had to push past the inner conflict that talking about it was ‘unnecessary’ … it was too long ago ..too ‘Oyinboish ‘to discuss publicly .. ‘. ‘Then of course ..that talking about it now would make it seem like my family failed me as a child .. but they didn’t .. and could never have known .. I had mastered SILENCE !they were victims too. Every abuse story is different but it is SHAME that makes them complicated.. Sadly , the shame hardly lies with the perpetrators .. So I’ve learnt that it’s time to nail shame right where it belongs ..Far away from the wronged .. Bringing them instead to healing ,justice and freedom. We must teach ever child the power of their voices ,,Apparently ,we must teach adults too … and more importantly we must learn to listen .. understand and know that Sex is not a dirty word .. but DENIAL is ..

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The Vietnamese-American Novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen on a French Audience That Doesn’t Know Chinua Achebe

A Brief Lecture on Feminism

Maaza Mengiste Offering a Free Copy of Her New Novel, The Shadow King

#ThrowBack: Farafina Magazine Shares All Its Issues in Nostalgic Thread

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Yewande Omotoso on Political Correctness

Lola Shoneyin Shares Her New Picture Book Series

Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature Winner Harriet Anena on GoFundMe

Kadaria Ahmed Calls Out President Buhari

Ahead of This Year’s Lagos International Poetry Festival

Opening Night of Africa Writes Festival

Pamela Adie Shares Shocking Statistics on Nigeria’s Handling of Rape Culture 

In Honour of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s Caine Prize Win, McSweeneys Is Giving Away Copies of Its Issue 53