Sarah Ladipo Manyika's fabulous debut novel In Dependence is published in Nigeria in December.
The book is an historical romance set in Nigeria and England. Â Its a good old-fashioned read and begins thus:
"One could begin with the dust, the heat and the purple bougainvillea. One might even begin with the smell of rotting mangos tossed by the side of the road where flies hummed and green-bellied lizards bobbed their orange heads while loitering in the sun. But why start there when Tayo walked in silence, oblivious to his surroundings. With a smile on his face he thought of the night before when he had dared to run a hand beneath the folds of Modupe’s wrapper. Miraculously, without him even asking, Modupe had loosened the cloth around her waist. Of course they had kissed many times before, usually in the Lebanese cinema when all was dark, but that was nothing compared to Friday night. And while Tayo was lost in his thoughts, his father, who walked alongside, noticed his son’s smile and read it as excitement for the forthcoming trip."
Toni Kan has won the NDDC Ken Saro-Wiwa prize for his collection Nights of the Creaking Bed. The prize was awarded at the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) awards gala night on Saturday 31st October.
The book was published in 2008 by Cassava Republic Press. On winning the award, Toni had this to say, "The ANA awards is the most credible and widely respected literary awards in Nigeria today. I am happy to have received this honour which is, above all else, a recognition of my work and the resurgence of a publishing industry with companies like Cassava Republic at the forefront."
Brian Chikwava’s Harare North is one of the most talked-about African novels of the year. We caught up with Brian in London just after this year’s Hay festival in June. In this 30 minute interview, he talks about the language of his book, the writing process, artistic integrity, his favourite books, the importance of the internet, the location of the writer and the short story as the ideal medium between the poem and the novel.
Lola Shoneyin was interviewed recently on RTE’s the Art Show. Shoneyin’s much-anticipated debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives is published by Cassava Republic Press in February 2010.
We’re utterly excited to be the first to be publishing this fresh voice in African writing. The American and UK publication will follow later next year.
Her poetry collection For the Love of Flight will be out in October.
Some call me
the pigmy
in a forest of giant trees
*
Some say I am
the shortest finger
in the year's prodigious hand
*
Some damn me
for the brevity of my days
abbreviated shadows...
"Man Nosike! Where you dey since?" He asked his friend.
Nosike extricated himself from the surging mass of humanity to
position himself close to Tega and Abigail. Cheers erupted from the crowd...
This week, Critical Literature Review is happy to publish another set of reviews in collaboration with StoryTime, a web magazine which showcases the works of budding and established African writers. The first story covered is Esi W. Cleland's "Choices" and...
Tolu Ogunlesi has an interesting piece on the recent celebration of African literature in Oslo: "Returning a little over a year later for a week-long celebration of African...
Sarah Ladipo Manyika, author of the novel "In Dependence", was raised in Nigeria and has lived in France, England and Kenya. She has written essays, short stories, book reviews and academic papers some of which...
How to Apply Criticism and Not Lose Your Mind by Merrilee Faber
So you’ve sent your story out to impartial and honest readers for feedback.  The results come flooding in, and suddenly you are overwhelmed with pages of conflicting advice, comments, praise and condemnation, often all in the same critique.
How do you deal with this? [...]
1.
Submissions now open for the 2010 CNN MULTICHOICE AFRICAN JOURNALISM AWARDS [entry form attached]
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/africanawards/about.html
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/africanawards/rules.html
The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Competition is the most prestigious and respected Award for journalists across the...
Nigeria’s failure to make the progress commensurate with 50 years of nation-building is not just a failure of leadership. It is first and most catastrophically, a failure of...
Brian Chikwava’s 
Lola Shoneyin was 