Between December 5 to December 7, Freetown, Sierra Leone, will play host to the Sierra Leone National Book Fair—the first of its kind since 1925. In a statement provided to Awoko, Mohamed Sheriff, an organizer of the fair, explains that the aim of the fair is “to showcase the books that have been written by […]
Archive by Author
Is There a Quota of 5 Books by African Authors for Every “Best 100 Books of 2019” List?
As yet another year draws to a close, literary lists of various sorts are once again filling our newsfeeds. During the first week of November 2019, BBC Arts released a list titled “100 Novels That Shaped Our World.” On that list, Brittle Paper noted that there were five novels by African authors which, in the words […]
They Say There are Over 50 Translations of Things Fall Apart. Here are 61.
How many times have you heard or read that Things Fall Apart has been translated into over 50 languages? And yet, do you know just exactly how many there are, or what the titles of the translations are, or who translated them? For #ChinuaAchebeWeek, on what would’ve been Achebe’s 89th birthday, we bring you all the […]
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Olumide Popoola, Mukoma wa Ngugi at Stimmen Afrikas Literaturfestival in Cologne, Germany
From November 6 to November 9 2019, 33 guests from 19 countries, including several notable African authors, scholars, other individuals prominent in the African literary scene, participated in the tenth Literaturfestival (“literature festival”) hosted by stimmen afrikas (“Voices of Africa”) in Cologne, Germany. The theme this year was “Crossing Borders: Translate – Transpose -Communicate.” According […]
Romeo Oriogun’s Debut Poetry Collection, Sacrament of Bodies, an Interrogation of Queerness, Masculinity & Nigerianness, Now Available for Pre-order
In 2018, the Nigerian poet Romeo Oriogun was named an Institute of International Education Artist Protection Fund Fellow and a Harvard Scholars at Risk Fellow at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. During the fellowship, Oriogun was expected to complete a volume of work titled The Rise of Queer Voices in […]
20.35 Africa | Momtaza Mehri, Megan Ross, Nadra Mabrouk, Saddiq Dzukogi Featured in Forthcoming Volume II, Guest-Edited by Yasmin Belkhyr & Kayo Chingonyi
Earlier this year, we announced a call for submissions for Volume II of 20.35 Africa: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, guest-edited by Yasmin Belkhyr and Kayo Chingonyi. We are excited to announce that the anthology will be available on Brittle Paper this November. Issue II of 20.35 Africa follows from the groundbreaking first volume of 20.35 Africa, published in […]
African Literati React to Oscars Disqualification of Nigeria’s First Ever Entry, Lionheart, with Conversation on Language, Colonial Legacy
On November 5, 2019, African Twitter was abuzz with the news that Lionheart (2018), Nigeria’s first ever submission to the Academy Awards, was disqualified on the grounds that it contained too much English dialogue. The disqualification provoked Twitter responses from several African authors and other prominent individuals of the African literary scene who have written or […]
“A Hymen is Where Angels Live”: Chika Unigwe, Molara Wood, Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún, and the Definitions of Hymen You Never Knew Existed
Yesterday started off as an ordinary day on African literary Twitter. There was the usual announcement of newly published books and essays, congratulations for recent award winners, and of course, a tweet or two about Chimamanda Adichie. We were, in short, performing our regular scroll-through of our Twitter feed, thumb swiping up, thumb swiping up, […]
Welcome to Brittle Paper, your go-to site for African writing and literary culture. We bring you all the latest news and juicy updates on publications, authors, events, prizes, and lifestyle. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@brittlepaper) and sign up for our "I love African Literature" newsletter.
