Review: Love is Power or Something Like That

A glowing review of Igoni Barrett's latest, Love is Power or Something Like That on Africainwords:

It feels exceptionally hard in a short review to do justice to the layers of story, character and life in A. Igoni Barrett’s second collection of short stories Love is Power or Something Like That.  The characters that people these stories range across generation and gender - from 68 year old grandmother Ma Billie, living alone and facing an eye operation that will render her helpless, to 15 year old school boy Samu’ila, monetizing his passion for cybercafes in dating chat rooms.  The stories (all but one set in Nigeria) explore the complexities of human relationships and the dynamics of power that push together and pull apart intimacy between parents and children, between cousins, lovers, neighbours, and colleagues.

Igoni Barrett will be at the second edition of the Writers' Studio Workshop in Lagos.  

Opportunity: The Uzoigwe Elechi Humanity Project 2013

So you love to write? Here is an opportunity to write for money and travel. All the best!

2013 Focus: Entrepreneurship. 

Prize:

1. $1,000.

2. All expenses paid trip to Abakaliki, a peaceful, serene, agricultural and limestone rich city in Southern Nigeria (from any country in Africa). 

3. An interactive session with 50 intelligent Nigerian youths to encourage intercultural dialogue.

4. A dinner party in honour of the winner - presentation of the prize money, certificate and plaque.

Topic: 'The economy of the world is driven by entrepreneurs, and Africa has a lot to learn by tapping into the potentials inherent in entrepreneurship to ensure profound economic and infrastructural development, but in the past, there has been a continuous decline in the efforts of governments and organizations in directing the minds of their youths and populace towards entrepreneurship development, as a young entrepreneur, what factors do you think mitigate against the economic development of your country? How does these factors transcend to other African countries? And what measures can the government adopt to encourage economic and infrastructural development through entrepreneurship? What can you do or is presently doing to contribute towards Africa’s emergence as the leading economic power in the world?' 

Rules

Please read these guidelines carefully before applying for this contest. 

1. Prize money - $1,000 

2. Entry is free for African youths only. 

3. Entrants must be African youths between the ages of 18 – 35. 

4. Entrants must reside in an African country. 

5. Entrants must show an evidence of originating from an African country as soon as announced as one of the shortlists. 

6. Winner must be willing to travel to Abakaliki, the capital city of Ebonyi State, Nigeria if invited to do so. (The organizers reserve the right not to invite the winner in any given year, but may decide to wire the prize money to the winner’s account wherever he is in the world). 

7. Essay must not be more than 2000 words, and not less than 1500 words long. 

8. Essays must be the original work of the entrant and must be unpublished anywhere prior to submission, either in part, except or in full. 

9. Essays to include a cover page, bearing the entrants name, email address, phone contacts, physical address, age, sex, country of origin, country of residence and passport number (if any). 

10. Entries to be emailed to: uzoigweelechihumanityproject@gmail.com 

11. All entries to be typed in MS-Word and sent in as an attachment. 

12. Entries to be submitted from July 2nd and on or before 6pm August 2nd 2013. 

13. All entries are to be judged blind. 

14. Multiple entries are discouraged and will automatically disqualify the entrant. 

15. Between 10 to 20 best essays entered for any given year to be published in a booklet which will be shared free to youths all over Africa. 

16. Staff of Ugreen Foundation, the organizers of the project, and their families are ineligible to apply. All inquiries as regards the Uzoigwe Elechi Humanity Project to be directed to ‘The Project Officer, Ugreen Foundation Nigeria’ email: info@ugreenfoundation.org

What the judges will be looking for:

1. Essay must show potentials to addressing the issue in focus. 

2. Essay to highlight the efforts the author has engaged in or is currently employing to ensuring entrepreneurship revolution in his/her country, vis-à-vis the African continent.

3. Essay must reflect the current economic trends in Africa. 

4. Essay to portray accuracy of words and good use of expression.

What are you waiting for? Start working on your essay, my friend!

More information here

Competition: On Max Siollun's Soldiers of Fortune

Cassava Republic launches Max Siollun's Soldiers of Fortune with a competition. Details below.

Coups, coup-plots and coup-baiting; kidnappings, mysterious killings and rampant corruption… These are just a few of the tumultuous and dramatic events that took place in Nigeria between 1983 and 1993. Max Siollun has given us the historian’s perspective.  Now, we want to hear from you: the people who experienced the ups and downs of military rule first hand, or (if you were too young or not yet born), with stories kept within the family.

So, what was it really like to live through this period of cataclysmic change for Nigeria? To tell us your version of history and enter our competition, simply respond to the following request:

In 50 to 100 words, tell us about a memory (or family story) from the Buhari/Babangida military era (between 1983 and 1993).

Good or bad, shocking or strange, all you have to do is write your story of the military era and then email it to: info@cassavarepublic.biz.

There are five copies of this ground-breaking narrative of a crucial part of Nigeria’s history to be won (one for each winner).  

More information here

Discount for Earlybirds

The second edition of Writers' Studio Workshop is here.This would take place in Lagos between 29th-31st August at Litcaf, First floor, E center Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos.

So you are ready to transform your writing? We have an interesting line-up of tutors to help you.

Register early--between now and  August 5--to get a discount on the workshop.

Book a place today--and get your discount--by calling : 08034766250, 08166906999,08079774009

Opportunity: Marie Claire Debut Novel Award

This  competition should inspire all budding writers. Enter and win a £5,000 advance, work with your own editor and get your novel published.

With a heritage stretching back nearly 200 years, HarperCollins is one of the world’s foremost English-language publishers, offering the best-quality content right across the spectrum, from enduring classics to cutting-edge contemporary fiction; from Nobel prize-winners to worldwide bestsellers; from digital dictionaries to online curricula; and pretty much everything in between. 

TO ENTER

To enter Marie Claire's Debut Novel Award, you will need to complete the first 6,000 words of your original novel. Alongside this you will need to submit an outline, no longer than 300 words, to show how the story will develop and conclude. There are no restrictions as to the storyline, but the genre must be contemporary women’s fiction. 

All entries must be received by 11.59pm on 31 July 2013. The winner will be announced in the December issue of Marie Claire.

Read more  here

SLCF: Call for Submissions

Entries are invited for the 2013 edition of the annual competition organized by the Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation to select and publish the best six (6) unpublished stories by Nigerian writers of children’s literature aged 11-21 years, resident in Nigeria. Entries are invited from all over the country. Submitted stories should entertain and enlighten, with strong Nigerian/African content. The Foundation’s judges will assess each entry on the depth, originality and quality of the writing and the story’s appeal to its intended audience. Above all, these stories are to stimulate the imagination of the readers to think and problem-solve in novel ways.

Rules and Conditions of Entry

All entries must be original, unpublished stories in English. Plays and poems are not eligible.

Entrants are not expected to illustrate their stories unless they wish to do so. This will not affect the assessment.

Entries must fall within one of the following two categories:

Junior

An original unpublished story in English for children between the ages of 8 – 12

Length: Up to 3,000 words

Senior

An original unpublished story in English for young adults between the ages of 13 and 17

Length: Up to 6,000 words

The best three stories per category will be selected for publication by the Foundation’s Panel of Judges.

The usual royalty and publication terms will apply to every story published by the Foundation. The publishers reserve the customary rights regarding all publishing decisions.

The copyright of each entry will remain vested in the author, unless otherwise agreed in writing between the entrant and the Foundation.

Submission Procedure

1.  Submissions should be typewritten or legibly handwritten, double spaced on numbered pages. Entries submitted online should be in clear and legible fonts. Illegible entries will be disqualified.

2.  Include a passport photograph, name, residential address, phone number and email address on the title page of the manuscript, with only the full name of entrant on each numbered page of the submission.

3.  Entries must be submitted under the entrant’s real name. Pseudonyms are not permitted.

4.  Not more than one entry per entrant will be accepted.

5.  For online submission, ensure that you attach your entry and e-mail it to entries@splendidfoundation.com.

OR

Submit six (6) copies of the entry manuscript to Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation: 31, Alhaji Tokan Street, Alaka Estate, Surulere, Lagos or P.O Box 7328, GPO, Lagos.

6.  Submissions should be accompanied by evidence of Nigerian citizenship (photocopied./scanned copy of birth certificate, Nigerian passport or Nigerian ID Card).

7.  The closing date for all entries is August, 31 2013.

 Any entry that fails to meet one or more of the conditions above (including the deadline), will be disqualified.

Members and employees of the Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation are not eligible.

Opportunity: LITRO Needs Online Editor

Litro Online is the web platform of one of London’s leading literary magazines. We have expanded and diversified our online presence to become a hub for new fiction, literary journalism, essay and reportage. We publish everything from book reviews to video interviews. Our current Online Editor, Emily Cleaver, is moving on, and so we are looking for a new team member to fill this exciting position.

As the Online Editor you will be responsible for overseeing all online content, developing ideas, liaising with contributors, shaping the direction of the online platform and managing the section editors. You will be involved in running our Book Club, selecting titles and running online events. You will also maintain the back-end of a complex WordPress site, working on new features and managing our membership platform. More information here

Event: Artmosphere July Edition

The July edition of ARTMOSPHERE, your favourite literary and arts event will feature a host of emerging but exceptionally skilled talents on the Nigerian literary scene... 

For a chance to share your work at the July 20 event, contact: 0809 816 4359.

RSVP the event here

Welcome to LITCAF

Wondering what the venue for the workshop is like? Welcome to LITCAF. 

LitCaf, a place of books, discussions and coffee. LitCaf unlocks open-mindedness through seminars and the innovative promotion of the reading culture. The book cafe is located on the first floor at E-Center, Yaba, Lagos.

LitCaf  nurtures budding literary talents and gives them the opportunity work out of or gather at our hub. All Writers' Studio Workshops in August holds at LitCaf. 

Welcome to LitCaf!

Director: Writers' Studio Workshop #2

Wondering who is behind the Writers' Studio Workshops? Meet Samuel Kolawole.

Samuel Kolawole has contributed fiction and non-fiction to several literary journals including Eastownfiction, Translitmag, Superstition Review, the Guardian, UK, the Kalahari Review, Sentinel literary Quarterly, and Short Story Day Africa. Kolawole is a regular contributor to Jungle Jim, a groundbreaking African pulp fiction magazine based in South Africa. His work has been published in Behind the Shadows, an anthology of African and Asian writers, and is also forthcoming in ISFN anthology, a Canada based imprint where his writing life will be showcased as well. Samuel also contributes to the South Africa based e-journal efrika.

In 2011, Kolawole featured as author of the month for his story “Memories and Penitence” at Tea with George, a project from Desperanto and Kanev Books in New York, which showcases the talents of writers of poetry and short stories. He is the author of the collection of short stories, The Book of M, published by Serendipity Books, Nigeria, also in 2011.

Kolawole is an alumnus of the Farafina Trust International Creative Writers Program with Tin House editor Rob Spillman, novelist and New School professor Jeffery Allen, Kenyan writer Binyanvanga Wainana, and novelist Chimamanda Adichie as lead facilitators. Samuel Kolawole is the winner of a 2010 Reading Bridges fellowship, and a recipient of an Ebedi Writer’s Residency.

Kolawole runs Writers’ Studio, a school for creative writing, the first of its kind in Nigeria. He  lives in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria and he has just completed his first novel.

Invisible Borders Goes to Ghana

What's happening in Ghana?

The Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers Organisation plans to organise a public space exhibition, workshops, symposium and readings in Accra as part of the follow up activities that comes with the Trans-African Road trip of each year. The space identified for the exhibition is the Nima Roundabout in Accra. The exhibition will transform the public space with imagery of contemporary Africa, displayed on a three-sided 20×40 ft. billboard and in the open grass of Nima Roundabout.

The intention to make such outings is rooted in the core ideals of Invisible borders which is to transcend limitations, be it the physical frontiers that exists between people or those that exists between the artists and the public who are in fact, the inspiration for their creations. For more information on the programs, see below:

PHOTO EXHIBITION OPENING | Sat. 13 July | Nima Roundabout

Reception at St. Kizito School. Exhibition in the public space of Nima Roundabout featuring works from the Invisible Borders Road Trip and by selected Ghanaian photographers.

READ-OUT HANGOUT | Wed. 17 July | W.E.B. Du Bois Centre

Open session featuring readings by participating writers from the Invisible Borders blog as well as from their work produced during the workshop. The evening will be headlined by Chibundu Onuzo, acclaimed author of Spider King’s Daughter (Faber & Faber) and Emmanuel Iduma, author of Farad.

TALK PARTY Screening & Discussion | Fri. 19 July | W.E.B. Du Bois Centre

Invisible Borders teams up with Accra[dot]Alt for an exclusive screening of the Invisible Borders film, projection of photographs from The Accra Project workshops, and panel discussion moderated by ‘the funky professor’ Kobby Graham. Mutombo da Poet and Poetry Asantewa on their spoken word game, DJ breaking it down on the turntables.

WORKSHOPS on Photography, Writing, and Film-Making | 12-20 July | W.E.B. Du Bois Centre

Workshops for selected participants in photography, writing, and film-making, including discussions, portfolio reviews, and ‘working the city.’

What is Invisible Borders?

Invisible Borders is a social intervention by a selected number of 21st century African artists who believe that building a Trans-African highway of the mind and sensitizing the populace toward trans-cultural exchange is the key to maximizing the unexplored potentials of the people of Africa. The Accra Project furthers the aims of fostering dialogue and discussions between people and tribes of the continent through tangible artistic interventions.

More information here.

Tutors: Writers' Studio Workshop #2

Ready to transform your writing? We have an interesting line-up of tutors to help you. Read more about them below and register for the next edition of the Writers' Studio Workshop in Lagos. 

To book a place, please call : 08034766250, 08166906999,08079774009

Elements of a Story with Toni Kan

Toni Kan is an award winning poet, essayist and short story writer. He is one of Nigeria's most anthologised poet and short story writer. Author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection When a Dream Lingers Too Long and the novella Ballad of Rage, and the popular collection of short stories, Nights of a Creaking Bed, published by Cassava Republic, Nigeria. His works have appeared in Salthill, Drum Voices, Revue, Farafina, Sentinel Poetry Quarterly and ANA Review. He studied English Literature at the University of Jos and has an MA degree in English Literature from the University of Lagos, graduating at the top of his class.

Work in Progress: Turn a Good Story into a Great Story with Ayodele Morocco-Clarke

Born in Lagos, Nigeria and descendant of kin from the West Indies, Sierra Leone and the Republic of Benin, Ayodele Morocco-Clarke is a writer of mixed heritage and an award winning solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She lectured Environmental Law as a Senior Lecturer at the Lagos State University and is an Oil & Gas, Nuclear Energy and Environmental Law Consultant, whilst also being a partner at Matrix Solicitors in Lagos. Describing herself as stubbornly unconventional, Ayodele is the Editor-in-Chief of Critical Literature Review and her works have appeared in To See the Mountain (the 2011 Caine Prize anthology), Crossing the Lines (a 2011 anthology edited by Jackie Kay and Kachi A. Ozumba), African Roar 2010 and 2011, Author Africa 2009, African Writing, the New Black Magazine, Saraba Magazine and Sphere Literary Magazine, amongst others.

Manuscript Preparation, Submission and Publication with Azafi Omoluabi-Ogosi

Azafi Omoluabi-Ogosi has lived with books all her life and has loved them since she could read the alphabet. She has worked as an editor/writer for Goge Africa, and freelanced with Soundcity Blast and My Media Magazine before joining Farafina Magazine. She owes most of her publishing experience to the stint at Farafina, which exposed her to the entire publishing process.

Azafi attended the University of Lagos, where she studied Mass Communication and then Political Science specializing in International Relations for her MSc.

She is the managing editor of Parrésia Publisher, her dream to change the face of African publishing. A go-getter, she believes a business model can be built that will sell books in record numbers. She also strongly believes that Africans read, however, books need to be helped along the way to the waiting hands of each reader.She lives in Lagos, Nigeria with her husband, three children and her imaginary dog Rov.

An Evening With Short Story Writer, Igoni Barrett

Igoni Barrett was a winner of the BBC World Service short story competition for 2005. His first book, a collection of short stories entitled From Caves of Rotten Teeth, was first published in 2005 and reissued in 2008.

In 2006, he co-founded the online literary journal Blackbiro. In 2007 he joined the editorial team of Farafina Magazine, where he was managing editor until 2009. In May 2009, he initiated and managed "9 Writers, 4 Cities: The Book Tour", a six-week reading tour by several prominent Nigerian writers (including his father Lindsay Barrett).Invited as a participant to various literary festivals, Igoni Barrett was a  guest writer at the Garden City Literary Festival in September 2009. He was the founding organizer of the BookJam reading series in Lagos, Nigeria, which featured the writers Jude Dibia, Michela Wrong, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Binyavanga Wainaina, Helon Habila and Tsitsi Dangarembga, among others.

In 2010, Barrett was awarded a Chinua Achebe Center Fellowship. In July 2011, he travelled to Provincetown, Massachusetts, for a month-long Norman Mailer Center Fellowship, and in September 2011 participated in a residency at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy.Barrett's short fiction has been published in many print and online magazines, including AGNI, Guernica and Kwani?. His work also has appeared in the anthologies Incommunicado: Tales from across the Empire (2006) and The New Gong Book of New Nigerian Short Stories (2008).His new collection of stories, Love Is Power, Or Something Like That, was recently published in the UK, US and Nigeria.

Writers' Studio Workshop #2

The next edition of Writers' Studio Workshop will hold in Lagos between 29th-31st August at Litcaf, First floor, E center Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos. This edition is in partnership with Litcaf. 

Writing Stories That Work: A Workshop for Fiction and Non-fiction Writers

We’ll be taking a look at the elements of story, from both fictive and non-fictive perspectives. This workshop provides an opportunity to explore specific writing techniques which help budding writers discover new aspects of their creativity. In a hands-on, practical manner, participants will get feedback on their work and engage in writing exercises and discussions.

Details on the different sessions and tutors below. 

Elements of a Story with Toni Kan

So you are a short story writer? This class with award winning short story writer, Toni Kan, will change your perspective of short story writing. Toni Kan will take you through the basics: characterisation, setting and plotting. At the end of the class, you should not only be able to write a short story but be able to create remarkable characters; paint memorable settings and sketch unpredictable plots.  

Work in Progress: Turn a Good Story into a Great Story with Ayodele Morocco-Clarke

You've been writing for a long time yet you have not been able to take your writing beyond okay? This class with Ayodele Morocco-Clarke will show you that little spice, that additional trick, that extra that will take your story from the ordinary to extra-ordinary. Most writers have scraps of stories here and there, unfinished; what do you need to take your stories beyond MS word saved on your PC? What do you need to write that publishable story? Find out in this class. 

Manuscript Preparation, Submission and Publication with Azafi Omoluabi-Ogosi

You have written that manuscript that you think is the "Great Nigerian Novel" yet you keep getting rejections from the publishers. What do you need to prepare your manuscript? How do you write a submission query? What should be done before publication? Parrésia Publisher and book addict, Azafi Omoluabi-Ogosi takes you into her world of books like never before.

The aim of this session is to give students information, insight and strategies for preparing their manuscript and getting their work published. This course will also assess the book publishing and the effect of the new media.

An Evening With Short Story Writer Igoni Barrett

Award winning writer, Igoni Barrett shares an evening with budding writers; he will read from his latest work and will be open to questions from participants. 

To book a place, please call : 08034766250, 08166906999,08079774009

Testimonials: On WSN's Creative Writing Workshop

On April 6, 2013, Writers' Studio had its inaugural creative writing workshop in Ibadan. Below are some testimonies from attendants.

"If you've ever wondered whether there's an emerging writer, poet or journalist in you, then a Writers' Studio workshop is an opportunity you definitely don't want to miss. Let your imagination be unleashed and you'll be very pleasantly surprised. Tosin Kolawole and his friendly team put together a well organised, inspiring programme - excellent value for money and great fun. Don't miss out, just do it!" -- Dr Dayo Abayomi, Senior Consultant Gynaecologist, Ibadan/London 

"Attending Writers' Studio was like finding that missing screw that would re-ignite my innate passion for the ink, paper and language. A forum where you have access to the minds of beautiful writers...."

--Harry Okoromadu(Ibadan) Team Leader, ACEnetwork

"The one-day Writers' Workshop in Ibadan remains, for me, a re-awakening- a timely wake up call for a sleeping muse. The sessions on Creative Non-Fiction, Developing as a Creative Writer, Prose Writing, and Poetry especially, granted me an exciting fresh look at the seemingly familiar creative landscape... Then, beyond anything said or heard, beyond the serenity of the venue, I recall that powerful aura- the mere presence of those gifted facilitators, whose writing profiles I had earlier admired... The next time I put pen to paper, I felt something well up from within me- a new wave of creative energy, with my ink refilled..."
-- Koleola Oludayo Jacob, Barrister, Ibadan

On Writers' Studio Nigeria: Take Three

The first WSN workshop in Ibadan

Writers' Studio Nigeria offers people an opportunity for self-expression; helps them to shape their thoughts and transform their experiences into powerful stories or pieces. We strive to create platforms for fruitful interactions between published authors and aspiring writers.

Writers' Studio offers life-changing creative writing experiences to anyone who writes. Our classes are for both beginner writers who want to get the fundamental techniques of writing under their belts, and also for experienced writers who wish to sharpen their writing skills.

At Writers' Studio, we organise broadly based and specialised programs and provide our students a supportive space where their creativity can flourish. Our classes and seminar groups are facilitated by tutors who are both published authors and passionate instructors.

Welcome!

Welcome to LIT 360 Degrees, the official Writers' Studio Nigeria blog, your home of words. We love words and would love to share that love with the world! At WSN, we organise broadly based and specialised programs and provide our students a supportive space where their creativity can flourish. Welcome to LIT 360 Degrees!