In 1992, Margaret Busby, Britain’s first black female publisher, edited an anthology of female African writers and female writers of African descent. Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present, published by Ballantine Books, was groundbreaking in its presentation and exposure of the work […]
Tag Archives: warsan shire
Photos from the London Launch of Margaret Busby’s New Daughters of Africa Anthology
Last October, it was announced that Britain’s first black female publisher Margaret Busby will edit a new anthology featuring 200 female African writers and female writers of African descent across generations. New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of 20th- and 21st-Century Writing by Women of African Descent—which “charts a contemporary literary canon from 1900 and […]
Safy-Hallan Farah’s Zine Project, 1991, Aims to Re-present Contemporary Somali Literary and Visual Culture
Somali writer Safy-Hallan Farah is a believer in the vivacity of cultures and storytelling. A journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Nylon, and Paper, she decided to start a new project dedicated to re-presenting contemporary Somali culture through coverage of the writing and images of the country’s diaspora artists and intellectuals. The magazine, 1991, is co-founded with Vietnamese […]
Opportunity for African Poets | Enter for the 2019 Brunel International African Poetry Prize
Submissions for the 2019 Brunel International African Poetry Prize will begin on 30 October and end on 12 December 2018. Previous winners include Somalia’s Warsan Shire in 2013, Ethiopia’s Liyou Libsekal in 2014, Sudan’s Safia Elhillo and Uganda’s Nick Makoha in 2015, Nigeria’s Gbenga Adesina and Chekwube O. Danladi in 2016, Nigeria’s Romeo Oriogun in 2017, and […]
Kwame Dawes, Warsan Shire, Nadifa Mohamed, Inua Elams, Chibundu Onuzo Elected into the Royal Society of Literature
Eight African writers have been elected into the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) as part of its 40 Under 40 initiative: poets Warsan Shire and Inua Ellams, novelists Sabrina Mahfouz, Nadifa Mohamed, Irenosen Okojie, and Chibundu Onuzo, , and playwright Bola Agbaje. Beyond the 40 Under 40 initiative, there were two more inductees: street rapper Mojisola Adebayo and poet Kwame Dawes, […]
Warsan Shire, Scheduled to Headline 2018 Africa Writes, Will Miss the Festival Due to Illness
Warsan Shire, scheduled to headline Africa Writes 2018, will miss the festival due to illness. Her event, “Warsan Shire in Conversation on Sunday 1 July,” has now been postponed to Monday 21 January 2019. Tickets purchased for the event will be valid for the new date. Alternatively, ticket-holders are entitled to a full refund. The […]
2018 Africa Writes Festival Spotlights Womxn and Queer Writers in African Literature
Africa Writes Festival is UK’s biggest annual African literature and book festival. It is sponsored by the Royal African Society and hosted at the British Library and Rich Mix. From Friday 29 June to Sunday 1 July, over 60 writers from Africa and the diaspora will convene in London to explore the works of womxn […]
Warsan Shire and Yrsa Daley-Ward in Vogue’s “World Poetry Day” Special
As we talk about the Brunel Prize including six women on its eight-name 2018 shortlist, two female African poets have been included in Vogue magazine’s feature for the 2018 “World Poetry Day” on March 21. Somali Warsan Shire and Nigerian-British Yrsa Daley-Ward appear alongside seven other poets of international renown: Lang Leav, Kaveh Akbar, Donika […]
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