The African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently launched the Read Africa award program. The program gives libraries in the State of Wisconsin funds to enrich their collections with African books as well as offer programming to encourage a deeper understanding of African literature.

Libraries interested in stocking their shelves with African fiction, poetry, memoirs, etc. are awarded as much as $1,000 dollars. The funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center program.

Brittle Paper‘s editor and Global Black Literatures professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Ainehi Edoro and African Cultural Studies doctoral candidate, Vincent Ogoti, curated an African Books List from which the award recipients may make targeted selections based on genre, subject matter, and chronology.

In the introduction to the list, Professor Edoro notes that the list of 150+ books captures the “expanded global influence” of African literature in recent times.

Writers are exploring storytelling in all its diversity and representing the continent’s cultures and experiences. There is a rise in creative non-fiction and exciting genres like science fiction, crime thriller, comic, YA, and children’s books. While the 150+ books listed in this collection are by no means exhaustive, they capture this wealth of creative expression.

By expanding the African books collection in Wisconsin libraries, The Read African program enables Wisconsin readers to experience the wealth of African literature. The list covers everything from nonfiction to comic books, from historical fiction to sci-fi. Interested libraries as well as independent readers can download the full book list here.

The deadline to apply for the Read Africa: Books for Wisconsin Libraries award program is May 1, 2021 at 11:59 pm Central US time.

Click here to learn more about the program and eligibility, and click here to submit an application for your Wisconsin public library!