We, the African Writers Development Trust, take this opportunity to announce to the world our Speakers for the 2019 African Writers Conference. The African Writers Conference this year will focus on Cultural Stereotypes in African Literature: Rewriting the Narratives for the 21st Century Reader as the theme to set the pace for discussions in the African literary space. This will hold on the 28th of September at the Sarit Centre, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya from 8:30 AM.
After a rigorous selection process, we have come up with a selection of 5 speakers from 4 African countries who will lead and direct discussions on the earlier mentioned theme. We are confident that the chosen 5 will bring thought-provoking perspectives which will resonate across literary circles globally.
We present to you our Speakers.
Sabah Carrim (Mauritius)
Sabah is a Mauritian novelist with two novels: Humeirah (2012) and Semi-Apes (2015). Both stories are set in Mauritius where she was born.
Her first novel Humeirah was the subject of a thesis by Masaryk University, Czech Republic.
Additionally, Sabah’s short stories have been selected for publication in writing competitions organised by the Commonwealth Foundation and Goethe Institute South Africa.
Sabah is also a law lecturer and a freelance editor at Bloomsbury. She currently lives in Kuala Lumpur.
She was recently invited to speak at the Kuala Lumpur Literary Festival and the Bangalore Literature Festival.
Her next proposed publication is an anthology of short stories on education titled The Teacher and The Taught.
Sabah will be delivering the keynote address on Cultural Stereotypes in African Literature: Rewriting the narratives for the 21st Century Reader at the upcoming African Writers Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
She is also expected to attend the Aké Arts and Book Festival – coming up in October in Lagos, Nigeria – for the launch of an anthology containing one of her short stories, Tara’s Hair.
Sabah is the lead speaker.
Nnane Ntube (Cameroon)
Nnane is a Cameroonian-born poet, a teacher, an activist for change, a youth envoy for peace and democracy and a social entrepreneur. She holds a B.A. in English Language and a B.A. in Bilingual Studies obtained from the University of Yaounde. As a performance poet, she uses her poetry group, Breaking Point, founded in 2017 to dramatize her poems. This group largely focuses on poems written against the backdrop of cultural activities in Africa. Its members come from different national and international cultural backgrounds. Nnane led the cultural week of her school (Government Bilingual High School, Yom III-Bandjoun) for four years (2012 to 2016) as the cultural coordinator and coordinator of the Arts & crafts club. Under her leadership, her school has won many prizes nationally such as the Best Arts and Hegemony prize, the Best Inter-school Cultural Dance prize and many more. She is presently in collaboration with the UNESCO #DefyHateNow team to bring back the culture of peace in Africa and the world at large. Her works have appeared in journals and magazines globally.
She is on the panel as a discussant.
Nabilah Usman (Nigeria)
Nabilah is a teacher with a background in broadcasting. Working in (and with) various forms of media has defined the last 5 years of her life. She has had the privilege of working in traditional media (broadcast radio) and new media trends, and both have given -in her words- “the opportunity to contribute to the development of media in Nigeria”. She has worked with a couple of start-up radio stations, helping to create and establish guidelines and policies that would govern the affairs of each organisation. She has also contributed to the training of young, upcoming hopefuls who are looking to establish themselves in the media industry as well as the Nigerian literary space.
In the past two years, she has been more active in Nigeria’s education sector, working as an English teacher in Kaduna state, Nigeria. This has been in a bid to contribute towards the foundational learning process of Nigeria’s children and also to equip them with the ability to thrive in a global environment. She spends part of her time volunteering at the ‘I too can read’ literacy program where she teaches the English language to children from less privileged homes. She is a volunteer editor with Tanar Kaduna Bookathon team and currently serves as the director of the PurpleSilver Budding Club (a platform that encourages the literary spirit in young people in secondary schools).
Being that Nigeria is diverse in multiple forms of identity (like ethnicity, religion, gender, culture, and the likes) she has constantly worked with people of various cultures and backgrounds, thereby inadvertently building her “diversity ability” – a necessary skill in this 21st-century world. She writes poetry and critical essays and is also a social commentator.
She will be leading one of the discussion sessions at the African Writers Conference in Kenya.
Alexander Nderitu (Kenya)
Alexander Nderitu is a Kenyan poet, playwright and novelist. His first book, ‘When the Whirlwind Passes’ has the distinction of being Africa’s first digital novel. Some of his writings have been translated into Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Swahili. In 2014, his poem ‘Someone in Africa Loves You’ represented Kenyan literature on Poetry Postcards distributed during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. His fiction is available worldwide via the Worldreader app and devices. In 2017, he was named by Business Daily newspaper as one of Kenya’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 Men’. Nderitu is also the Deputy Secretary-General of Kenyan PEN and is the Kenyan Editor of the international theatre news portal, TheTheatreTimes.com. He is also an active social media cultural activist and has a large following on his “How to be a Kenyan Intellectual”.
Alexander will be leading one of the discussion sessions at the African Writers Conference in Kenya.
Tom Odhiambo (Kenya)
Tom Odhiambo is a literary critic and a senior lecturer in the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi. He is also a culture and media scholar. He is a regular contributor to Kenyan newspapers and magazines on books, art and culture. He will be moderating the discussion sessions at the AWC this year.
In addition, the judges for the 2019 African Writers Awards have also been selected. The awards ceremony is an integral part of the African Writers Conference. Many of the judges are making a comeback from the 2018 panel. They will select the best from a pool of amazing entries who will be awarded the prestigious African Writers Awards for Flash Fiction, Short Stories, Poetry and Children’s Literature.
We present to you our judges.
Kolabomi Adeko – Nigeria – Poetry
Kolabomi is a physicist by training but a poet by passion. He has an amazing mastery of wordplay and puns. He is currently the editor of Poetica magazine, an online poetry magazine. He lives in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, home to the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University.
Nahida Esmail – Tanzania – Children’s Literature
Tanzanian writer Nahida Esmail, born and raised in Dar es Salam, is an award-winning author. Her four young adult novels, Living in the Shade, Lessilie the City Maasai, Detectives of Shangani, and Living in the Shade: Aiming for the Summit have all received CODE’s Burt Award for African Literature. All four novels were finalists for the 2017 Burt Award for African Young Adult Literature: All-Stars competition. In 2015, she was honoured with the Tanzania Women’s Achievement Award in the education category. She has 22 published books so far. Her historical fiction, which was a finalist at the 7th BURT Award, ‘Karafu: A freed Slave’ will soon to be published.
Sabah Carrim – Mauritius – Short Stories
Sabah is a Mauritian novelist with two novels: Humeirah (2012) and Semi-Apes (2015). Both stories are set in Mauritius where she was born.
Her first novel Humeirah was the subject of a thesis by Masaryk University, Czech Republic.
Additionally, Sabah’s short stories have been selected for publication in writing competitions organised by the Commonwealth Foundation and Goethe Institute South Africa.
Sabah is also a law lecturer and a freelance editor at Bloomsbury. She currently lives in Kuala Lumpur.
She was recently invited to speak at the Kuala Lumpur Literary Festival and the Bangalore Literature Festival.
Her next proposed publication is an anthology of short stories on education titled The Teacher and The Taught.
Sabah will be delivering the keynote address on Cultural Stereotypes in African Literature: Rewriting the narratives for the 21st Century Reader at the upcoming African Writers Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
She is also expected to attend the Aké Arts and Book Festival – coming up in October in Lagos, Nigeria – for the launch of an anthology containing one of her short stories, Tara’s Hair.
Adah Bitiah Chembo – Zambia – Flash Fiction
Adah Bitiah Chembo is a Zambian writer and editor. Growing up, she always found it easier to express herself through written words hence, she writes poems and stories for fun. She has been writing professionally for over 5 years now. During this time, Adah has offered freelance report writing services on several occasions. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Demography and minoring Development Studies at The University of Zambia. Additionally, Adah is a flash fiction editor at Writers Space Africa. Some of her personal interests include gazing at natural scenery, writing, reading books and internet articles on varying subjects -especially on current affairs, watching movies, listening to different genres of poetry and music. She also has a great interest in enhancing her knowledge through learning from others while sharing her knowledge. She is self-driven, analytical and passionate about changing the African narrative and contributing to the development process of her country – Zambia – and the continent at large.
Anthony Onugba – Nigeria – Chief Judge
Anthony Onugba is a Nigerian born author of six books. These include Amanda’s Crime, The Chronicle of Christ, Reflections, and Mixed Emotions. He has lots of manuscripts that he has decided never to publish – for reasons even he does not know – and he is also a scriptwriter who studied film production and directing for film at both the National Film Institute, Jos and Lights Film School, New York.
Anthony is the creator of Writers Space Africa. He is also the founder and Vice President of the African Writers Development Trust. He is the brain behind the annual African Writers Conference and African Writers Awards.
Anthony is certified in Project Management and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). He is also a consultant to Non-Governmental Organisations and a facilitator at various workshops on conflict management and prevention, leadership, creative writing, and film.
Currently, Anthony serves as the Executive Director of the African Writers Development Trust. He resides in Nigeria and loves to talk with animals, walk under the rain, and gaze at the stars.
For more information, please visit the conference website at www.africanwritersconference.com
Having presented you this promising ensemble, we hope to see you in Kenya, in September.
Thank you,
Namse Udosen.
Public Relations Manager,
African Writers Development Trust
+234 706 574 1425
www.writerstrust.org
