It’s my first time in Kampala; this city that’s as cacophonous as a hen yard. Traders selling their merchandise by the roadside seem to be in a contest to see who can sing in the loudest tone as they try to arrest the attention of passers-by. Several young men stand in circles, watching and cheering on a fellow who’s inside the circle, dancing to Lingala music from a huge cassette player.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE: While international honour and tributes for the African literary legend Professor Ama Ata Aidoo who died aged 81 on May 31, 2023 are still pouring, Zimbabwe will also bear everlasting memories of her inspiring character. In Zimbabwe, she consolidated her writer’s voice, becoming a full-time writer. Not only that, but when Prof…
Munyori Literary Journal has just reviewed Manyika’s second novel, Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun, which was published this year by Cassava Republic Press Abuja-London and was officially launched in Harare. The following is an exciting conversation which writer/literary journalist Beaven Tapureta (BT), recently held with Sarah Ladipo Manyika (SLM) about herself,…
Every year the African continent holds its breath as we wait for the announcement. We’ve blogged the stories, Googled the authors, engaged in furious debate about the style of writing, about the story, about the author. Then the tweet drops, the website is updated and we all find out who won the Caine Prize. The…
Born in Oshogbo, Western Nigeria, Bode Asiyanbi was educated at Obafemi Awololwo University, Ile-Ife and Lancaster University where he holds a Masters degree in Creative Writing.He is a two-time winner of the BBC African Performance Playwriting Prize and worked with the BBC World Service Trust as a writer on its groundbreaking radio and television drama…
Fear has a taste. It is this metallic tang that floods my mouth as I quicken my steps. My heart is a frantic tattoo, my mouth impossibly dry. I swallow. My tongue glues itself to the roof of my mouth. I squeeze Fatima’s hand and feel her answering squeeze. My breaths slow. And then the…
We met them in We Need New Names: Bastard and Chipo and Godknows and Sbho and Stina and Darling (except this time we can’t quite tell if Darling is still part of the group, if she is the one telling the story. This is left to the reader to decide). Now Noviolet Bulawayo brings them back…
“My review [of We Need New Names] is a very funny one,” says Nkiacha Atemnkeng, “but I think the funniest novel in African literature ever also deserves a funny book review.” This is more than a review. Atemnkeng presents a personal response, in honour of his his role model, NoViolet Bulawayo, the author of one…
Mungoshi worked on this novel for twenty years Branching Streams Flow in the Dark by Charles Mungoshi, published in 2013 by Mungoshi Press, Harare, 165 pages, ISBN: 978 079 7444911, prize$18, phone: +263 774054341 Reviewed by Memory Chirere This transcendental novel, Branching Streams Flow in the Dark, published by his family, marks the long awaited ’return’ of…
Accra, July 26th, 2013 – The Golden Baobab Prizes for African children’s literature has ended the call for submissions to its 5th annual edition of the prizes. This year, Golden Baobab introduced three prizes: The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books, The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books and the Golden Baobab Prize for…
