Abdulrazak Gurnah, the two-time Booker-nominated Tanzanian novelist, has been announced headliner for the 2021 Ake Festival.

The festival, which is one of the biggest annual gatherings of writers and readers on the continent, will be virtual for the second time running. It features an exciting array of book panels, readings, poetry etc.

Abdulrazak Gurnah, an African literary heavyweight from Tanzania, is the author of over ten novels including his latest Afterlives, which follows the lives of two young men from different spectrums whose lives are intertwined in German-occupied Tanzania. Hailed as one of Africa’s greatest living writers, his honors include a two-time Booker nomination, a Whitbread Award, and most recently a Walter Scott Historical Novel Award longlist for Afterlives. He lives in London.

To celebrate the announcement, the organizers of Ake Festival are giving away 20 copies of Afterlives. To win, entrants are required to take a selfie with a copy/copies of #AkeReview and post on social media.

The 2021 Ake festival will be held from October 28th to 30th.