british library - Royal African Society

About Africa Writes
Africa Writes is the Royal African
Society’s annual literature
festival. Every year we showcase
established and emerging talent
from the African continent and
its diaspora in what is now the
UK’s biggest celebration of
contemporary African writing
taking place over a beautiful
summer weekend. This year’s
festival features a two-day
international book market, book
launches, panel discussions,
children’s workshops, an
afterparty and other activities.
www.africawrites.org
in partnership with a host
of other organisations and
individuals including: The
Caine Prize, Kwani Literary
Trust, Yardstick Festival,
the Centre of African Studies,
Pearson, Black Reading Group
& Black Book News, the London
Afro-Caribbean Book Club,
Numbi Arts, Sidensi,
TEDxEuston and our main
partner, The British Library.
British Library – Main Partner
The British Library is the
national library of the United
Kingdom and one of the
world’s greatest research
libraries. It provides world class
information services to the
academic, business, research
and scientific communities
and offers unparalleled access
to the world’s largest and
most comprehensive research
collection. www.bl.uk
Two Writers, Two Generations: Ngugi wa Thiong’o &
Mukoma wa Ngugi, Saturday 6th July, 18:30-20:00,
The British Library, Conference Centre, £7.50/£5
An intimate conversation between acclaimed author
and theorist, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and his son,
author, Mukoma wa Ngugi, chaired by
publisher and writer, Margaret Busby
AfricaWrites Tweetathon
Tweet #AfricaWrites to win
prizes including free entry
to our main festival event,
an evening with Ngugi wa
Thiong’o and much more.
Photo: Paul Munene/Kwani Trust
About the RAS
The Royal African Society is
is a membership organisation
that fosters a better
understanding of Africa in the
UK and throughout the world.
Our goal is to promote Africa
globally in the spheres of
business, politics, academia, arts
and culture.
www.royalafricansociety.org
About our Partners
Africa Writes 2013 is organised
by The Royal African Society
“
AfricaWrites Tweetathon
Tweet #AfricaWrites to win prizes including free entry to our main
festival event, an evening with Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and much more
www.africawrites.org
www.facebook.com/africawrites
www.royalafricansociety.org
Photo: Sarina Leah
#AfricaWrites
#AfricaWrites
#AfricaWrites2013
#AfricaWrites2013
www.twitter.com/royafrisoc
www.facebook.com/afr
96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
BRITISH LIBRARY
5th July – 7th July
in partnership with The British Library
Africa Writes
2013 Programme
British Library 5th – 7th July 2013
Visit www.africawrites.org for
full schedule and event details
No booking required except
where specified below
FRIDAY
Africa in Translation
Friday 5 July, 10:00-13:00
BL Conference Centre,
FREE (booking required)
A three-panel symposium curated
by acclaimed translator Wangui
wa Goro reflecting on translation
and its importance for knowledge
management in Africa.
Writing Africa’s Futures
Friday 5 July, 14:00-17:00
BL Conference Centre,
FREE (booking required)
Where is African writing going
in the 21st century? Join the
five short-listed authors for the
2013 Caine Prize, alongside
distinguished authors Doreen
Baingana Zoe Wicomb and
Professor Stephanie Newell, for
an in-depth discussion of the
continent’s flourishing literary
futures.
Diaspora Writes Back
Friday 5 July, 18:30-20:30
BL Conference Centre,
£7.50 / £5 concessions
Poetry evening featuring
acclaimed poets Warsan Shire,
Nick Makoha, Nii Ayikwei Parkes
and Leeto Thale. Introduced and
moderated by Bernardine Evaristo
MBE (Anglo-Nigerian novelist and
founder of the Brunel University
African Poetry Prize).
SATURDAY
African Writing Today,
Saturday, 6 July, 12:15-13:00,
Conference Centre, FREE
Panel discussion with authors
Doreen Baingana, Binyavanga
Wainaina and Leila Aboulela
exploring current trends in
African writing
“Fairytales for Lost Children”
by Diriye Osman
Saturday 6 July, 13:00-13:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Exclusive pre-book launch event
with author, Diriye Osman.
Chaired by Dele Fatunla (Website
Editor, Royal African Society).
“Black Star Nairobi”
by Mukoma wa Ngugi
Saturday 6 July, 13:30-14:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Book launch with author, Mukoma
wa Ngugi. Chaired by Dr Ranka
Primorac (Department of English,
University of Southampton).
“Orchard of Lost Souls”
by Nadifa Mohamed
Saturday 6 July, 14:00-14:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Exclusive pre-book launch event
with author Nadifa Mohamed,
recently nominated one of
Granta’s Best of Young British
Novelists under 40. Chaired by
Richard Dowden (Royal African
Society’s Director).
Africa Writes Party with
NUMBI & Kwani?
Saturday 6 July, 19:00-01:00
Rich Mix (35-47 Bethnal
Green Rd) £10 in advance/£5
concesssions
Celebrating the launch of Scarf
Magazine, 10 Years of Kwani and
the second Africa Writes festival.
Come and join us!
SUNDAY
African Literature Prizes & The
Economy of Prestige
Saturday 6 July, 14:30-15:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
With Billy Kahora (author &
Managing Editor of Kwani?),
Jamal Mahjoub (Chair of Judges
for The Kwani? Manuscript
Project 2013) and Bernardine
Evaristo MBE (novelist & Founder
of the Brunel University African
Poetry Prize). Chaired by Lizzy
Attree (Administrator of The
Caine Prize for African Writing).
Tribute to Chinua Achebe
Saturday 6 July, 15:30-16:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Tribute to the late Chinua Achebe
with publishers James Currey &
Becky Nana Ayebia Clarke OBE,
and authors Chibundo Onuzo
& Chuma Nwokolo. Chaired by
Richard Dowden (Royal African
Society’s Director).
“Bonfires of the Gods”
by Andrew Eseimokumo Oki
Saturday 6 July, 16:30-17:00
Conference Centre, FREE
Book launch with author, Andrew
Eseimokumo Oki. Chaired by
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (2013
Caine Prize shortlisted author).
Meet the 2013 Caine Prize
Shortlisted Writers
Saturday 6 July, 17:00-18:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
The five short-listed authors for
the 2013 Caine Prize for African
Writing discuss their work with
Tricia Wombell (founder of Black
Book News and Coordinator of
the Black Reading Group).
Two Writers, Two Generations:
Ngugi wa Thiong’o and
Mukoma wa Ngugi
Saturday 6 July, 18:30-20:00
BL Conference Centre, £7.50/£5
An intimate conversation
between acclaimed author and
theorist, Ngugi wa Thiong’o,
and his son, author, Mukoma wa
Ngugi, chaired by publisher and
writer, Margaret Busby.
AfricaWrites Tweetathon
Tweet #AfricaWrites to win
prizes including free entry
to our main festival event,
an evening with Ngugi wa
Thiong’o and much more
Beyond Timbuktu: West Africa,
Script and Manuscript
Sunday 7 July, 12:00-12:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Dr Marion Wallace (Curator
of African Studies, The British
Library) explores Timbuktu,
Mali’s deep-rooted culture
of written scholarship and
literature, with illustrations from
the BL’s own rare manuscripts.
Fantasy or Reality? Afropolitan
Narratives of the 21st Century
Sunday 7 July, 12:30-13:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Is Afropolitanism just shallow
consumerism or a revolutionary
new way of being African?
Come and join the debate. With
Binyavanga Wainana (author),
Minna Salami (writer and blogger
at MsAfropolitan), Emma Dabiri
(PhD researcher) and Nana Ocran
(journalist and editor). Chaired by
Professor Paul Gilroy (Professor of
American and English Literature,
King’s College London).
Writing the Revolution: Scarf
Magazine launch
Sunday 7 July, 13:30-14:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Presentation of Scarf magazine’s
‘Revolutions’ issue featuring
a dazzling and radical take on
contemporary art, literature, film
and music.
“The Hairdresser of Harare”
by Tendai Huchu
Sunday 7 July, 14:00-14:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Book reading with author Tendai
Huchu. Chaired by by Chino
Odimba (Writer-on-Attachment,
Bristol Old Vic).
Re-writing Africa: The Place of
Non-Fiction
Sunday 7 July, 14:30-15:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
Panel bringing together writers,
artists and editors who have
created important new narratives
that challenge conventional
representations of Africa. With
Billy Kahora (Managing Editor
of Kwani? and author), Mary
Harper (Africa Editor, BBC World
Service), Michael Salu (Artistic
Director, Granta) and Samson
Kambalu (artist and author).
Chaired by Ike Anya (Co-Founder,
TEDxEuston).
Digital Futures: The changing
landscape of African publishing
Sunday 7 July, 15:30-16:30
BL Conference Centre, FREE
A panel of digital publishing
experts discuss the future
of publishing in Africa. With
Elizabeth Wood (Director of
Digital Publishing and Mobile
Platforms, World Reader),
Lynette Lisk (Commissioning
Editor, Pearson Education), Simi
Dosekun (Former Managing
Editor, Kachifo Limited), Michael
Bhaskar (Digital Publishing
Director, Profile Books). Chaired
by Mary Jay (Consultant /
Former Director, African Books
Collective).
Sundiata Keita and the Epic of
Ancient Mali
Sunday 7 July, 16:30-17:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
A staged production of the
Epic of Sunjata, using excerpts
of an English transcribed text,
featuring actor Denver Isaac
and renowned griot and master
kora player Seckou Keita. With
an introduction by Wilfred
Willey (President of the Malian
Community Council).
Writing and Storytelling
Workshops
for Young People
Find Your Voice
(aimed at 13-19 year olds)
Saturday 6 July, 12:00-13:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
(limited spaces, arrive early)
A peer-led workshop for 13-19
yearolds. Facilitated by Thiong’o
Kimathi Ngugi (short fiction
writer) and Elmi Ali (poet, writer
and performer).
Words, Youth & Revolution
(All welcome!)
Sunday 7 July, 12:00-13:00
BL Conference Centre, FREE
(limited spaces, arrive early)
An inter-generational workshop
for all the family. Facilitated by
Dorothea Smartt (poet and live
artist), Jessica Horn (women’s
rights activist and writer) and
Kinsi Abdulleh (founder of Scarf
Magazine and NUMBI Arts)
Storytime!
Saturday 6 July & Sunday 7
July, 12:00-12:45 (4-7 yrs) &
15:00-15:45 (8-12 yrs)
BL Conference Centre, FREE
(limited spaces, arrive early)
Interactive story-telling workshops
for 4-7 and 8-12 year olds. Parents
welcome too. Facilitated by
Louisa Bello (Nigerian/English ESL
teacher and writer).