Former US president Barrack Obama has revealed his summer 2019 reading list, and among his selections is the Ethiopian writer Dinaw Mengestu’s second novel How to Read the Air. Published in 2010 by Penguin Random House, the novel follows a man whose father’s death causes him to leave the US for Ethiopia in an attempt […]
Tag Archives: dinaw mengestu
Dinaw Mengestu and Nadifa Mohamed Have New Work in Freeman’s Magazine
Dinaw Mengestu and Nadifa Mohammed both have new fiction forthcoming in the new fourth issue of Freeman’s magazine. Titled “The Future of New Writing,” the issue collects work by “29 passengers we think will continue to be traveling into the future—perhaps even define it.” Freeman’s is named after, and edited by, former Granta editor and former […]
African Literary Digest: 8 Must-Reads from April, 2017
Every month, we compile a list of reads from around the Internet that we find illuminating. For January, we chose eight pieces. For February, we picked fourteen pieces. For March, we selected nine. For April, we have eight. They include short stories, essays that contribute to some of our ongoing conversations on literature and pop culture, […]
Dinaw Mengestu, Chinelo Okparanta and Yaa Gyasi Listed among Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists
Granta has released its prestigious once-in-a-decade Best of Young American Novelists list and it includes Ethiopia’s Dinaw Mengestu, Nigeria’s Chinelo Okparanta, and Ghana’s Yaa Gyasi. The 21-writer list, regarded as one of the most accurate and influential predictors of literary impact, is in its third publication. First released in 1997, it was followed by another […]
Photos from the Africa39 Literary Event in NYC City
If you’ve not heard about Africa39, you’re clearly not on top of your African literary news. So let me help you out. Africa39 is a book project sponsored by the Hay Festival and the Rainbow Book Club in Port Harcourt. The anthology features stories written by 39 writers below the age of 40 judged […]
Event | Africa39 in New York City! | Readings by Tope Folarin, Ellah Allfrey, & Nana Hammond
Hay Festival and Afridiaspora.com have teamed up to serenade New Yorkers with readings from the Africa 39 Anthology. Last year, Hay Festival collaborated with the Rainbow Book Club in Port Harcourt in a one of a kind literary project. 39 of the most promising sub-saharan African writers under the age of 40 each wrote stories that […]
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