The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is a Literary Institution Built to Last
The year 2000 marked a shift in African literature. After the so-called “book famine” of the 80s and 90s, the 2000s came with a rich harvest. This story of an African literary renaissance is complex...
View ArticleBrittle Paper Presents Africanfuturism Anthology Featuring Nnedi Okorafor, TL...
As part of the ongoing Decade Project, launched in commemoration of our 10-year anniversary, we are publishing an anthology of stories inspired by one of the most captivating literary concepts of the...
View ArticleSunrise by Nnedi Okorafor | Africanfuturism Anthology
If you didn’t want to take the Skylight, you had the option of boarding a traditional 747 that took off at the same time. Forty-five people on our flight opted to do so; the see-through cabin...
View ArticleGiving the World a New Kind of Literature: Interview with Ben Okri
Author of over 20 books and Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri is a prominent figure in the literary world. His writing inspires readers the world over. Critics and scholars have celebrated the many ways...
View ArticleFree Download of Africanfuturism: An Anthology | Stories by Nnedi Okorafor,...
Download for free: Africanfuturism-An Anthology edited by Wole Talabi In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we bring you a collection of Africanfuturist stories. Africanfuturism is a term coined...
View ArticleThe Inventiveness and Daring of Jalada Africa
One of my favorite pictures of my peers was taken beneath two massive air conditioning units . The edges are edited to look like a polaroid and two unfortunate straps of blurriness run across its top...
View ArticleThe Measure of Africa’s Time: A Decade of Our Collective Literary Pursuits
10 years ago, a dewy-eyed graduate student, I started writing a blog on literature and philosophy. It was supposed to be a personal project because writing is how I think and survive. But after a...
View ArticleBernardine Evaristo: 10 Quotes on Fostering an Inclusive Literary Culture
These quotes are drawn from Bernardine Evaristo’s New Statesman/Goldsmith Prize Lecture presented on September 30, 2020. The lecture is titled “The Longform Patriarch, and Their Accomplices” and was...
View ArticleExcerpt: Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka
Adjusting to a new culture was his main concern, but not an insurmountable culture shock. Badagry, after all, albeit closely intertwined with Lagos, was still Badagry. Pitan-Payne was on hand, though...
View ArticleExcerpt: His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie
Eli came at 1:36 p.m. I knew the exact time because I was sitting and staring at the analog clock on my phone when the doorbell rang. The sound startled me and I dropped the phone; I hadn’t heard the...
View ArticleTsitsi Dangarembga Did Not Win The Booker Prize, But Her Reaction Inspires Fans
Tsitsi Dangarembga apologizes to her fans for not bringing home the Booker Prize, and their responses were inspiring. Dangarembga and Ethiopia’s Maaza Mengiste were shortlisted for the 2020 Booker...
View ArticleVideo | Stage Readings of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s and Maaza Mengiste’s Novels...
British actors Thandie Newton and Nina Sosanya performed readings of Tsitsi Dangaremgba’s This Mournable Body and Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King. The readings were broadcast during The Booker Prize...
View ArticleEVENT | Women’s Prize Live with Chimamanda Adichie | Dec. 6
On December 6, Chimamanda Adichie will be honored as the Women’s Prize’s Winner of Winners’ at an online event hosted by The Women’s Prize Trust. The event will be chaired by Prize Founder Director...
View ArticleExcerpt: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
I … I KNOW, I UNDERSTAND, I shouldn’t have done it. I, Alfa Ndiaye, son of the old, old man, I understand, I shouldn’t have. God’s truth, now I know. My thoughts belong to me alone, I can think what I...
View ArticleThe Brittle Paper Notable African Books of 2020 is Out!
We are delighted to present Brittle Paper’s 50 Notable African Books of 2020. After one year of closely observing the literary scene and keeping a meticulously documented database of published books,...
View ArticleEnter the 2020 Awele Creative Trust Short Story Award | Deadline December 31
Awele Creative Trust Award is currently accepting entities for its 2020 short story prize. Founded and administered by Award-winning Nigerian author Chika Unigwe, the annual prize confers a cash reward...
View ArticleZukiswa Wanner: African Literary Person of the Year
Brittle Paper African Literary Person of the Year, now in its 6th year, recognizes an individual who has done outstanding work in advancing African literary culture and industry in the given year. The...
View ArticleBrittle Paper Person of the Year — in African Literary Culture
2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for all kinds of reasons. But it has also a year of remarkable cultural accomplishments, during which many in the African literary community stepped up to...
View ArticleICYMI: Photos & Videos From the 2020 Booker Prize Award Ceremony
The 2020 Booker Prize award ceremony was one of the most anticipated events of the year in the African literary community. This is because two African writers, both women, were shortlisted for the...
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