The first edition of the Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop took place at AES Luxury Apartments in Abuja from June 24th to 28th.

The workshop was hosted by the Flame Tree Writers’ Project, in partnership with the Abuja Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. It was co-led by NLNG Prize winners Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Chika Unigwe. The workshop hosted 20 participants from Northern Nigeria, each of whom worked on polishing a short story for publication in an anthology.

Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop organizers write,

The workshop aimed at teaching participants about the narratives, frameworks, and perspectives on writing about the cultural, political and religious sensitivities of the region [Northern Nigeria] with the goal of producing fresh, rich stories from the region.

Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop Co-Facilitators Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Chika Unigwe.

Participants attended a well-rounded range of workshop sessions led by Ibrahim, Unigwe, and several guest facilitators. Guest facilitators included theatre professor Rashida Liman, literary agent Emma Shercliff, and filmmaker Ishaya Bako.

After the workshop, Ibrahim told us,

This has been a rewarding experience and going through their workshop stories reaffirmed my faith in the project. I am excited by the range of talent we have in this country and I look forward to seeing how far these writers can go.

Unigwe and Ibrahim present a Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop participant with a certificate.

In addition to the writing development and guest facilitator workshops, participants at the first Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop had all expenses paid for the five-day event. While this first edition was restricted to participants from the 19 Northern States of Nigeria, future iterations will include other zones of the country.

It’s clear that the inaugural Flame Tree Writers’ Workshop was a success. Congratulations the organizers and the participants!