Kwame Dawes recently wrote a poem titled “Yard Boy” that speaks to the recent events surrounding the death of George Floyd. The poem was published “in the spirit of protest and concern” on the website of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of English, where Dawes holds the position of Chancellor’s Professor of English and is […]
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Teju Cole’s Spotify Playlists Offer Musical Solace for These Times
Among Teju Cole’s many talents is his ability to curate music that captures a mood or even the feel of a place. Since mid-March, when the lockdown began, Cole has been putting together playlists on Spotify that, as he explains on his Facebook page, are in line with the “gesture of sharing music in a […]
Petina Gappah to Write Play About the Censorship History of Dambudzo Marechera’s Novel Black Sunlight
Petina Gappah recently announced that she was writing a play that focuses on “the 1982 banning and unbanning” of Dambudzo Marechera’s novel, Black Sunlight. The play, also titled Black Sunlight, will explore the themes of “censorship, writing, and the nature of creativity” and will be framed through “a Mozart/Salieri style rivalry.” My play examines censorship, writing […]
Books That Go with Wine and Books That Don’t
The beverages most associated with reading are tea and coffee. But many readers love to cozy up in bed with a book and a glass of wine. Great weekend pastime. Our resident librarian, who is, of course imaginary, happens to be a part-time sommelier. So we asked her for recommendations on what books are best […]
Chimamanda Adichie Shares the Ins-and-Outs of Writing Half of A Yellow Sun for Biafra Remembrance Day
It’s Biafra Remembrance Day, and while many authors have written about the Biafra War, perhaps no other book on the subject has captured the world’s attention as much as Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. To mark the occasion this year, Adichie released a short video on her Instagram TV channel responding to questions […]
#WeTurnToBooks Returns! Catch Nnedi Okorafor, Kiru Taye, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, & Ayesha Harruna Attah Live on Instagram
Hey Brittle Paper readers and followers! We’re excited to announce the second installment of our #WeTurnToBooks series on Instagram Live, happening throughout the month of June. Our line-up this time around includes Nnedi Okorafor, Kiru Taye, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, and Ayesha Harruna Attah — all authors who have recently published a new book, or have […]
Tomi Adeyemi Recommends 5 Books to Escape Into While You’re Social Distancing
Wondering what’s on Tomi Adeyemi’s quarantine reading list? Adeyemi recently shared five books she is reading (and re-reading) during the global lockdown on O, The Oprah Magazine‘s Instagram Stories. Adeyemi’s appearance was part of the magazine’s “The Book Break” series, which asks a different author each week to share five books to escape into while […]
For a Chance to Win £1,000, Submit Your Work to the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize
Wasafiri is a magazine for international contemporary writing, known for publishing pieces by African writers like Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ben Okri, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Nadine Gordimer. In acknowledgment of the disruption that coronavirus has caused to many writers’ schedules and productivity, Wasafiri has generously extended their deadline for the “Queen Mary New Writing […]
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