The Arts-Muse Fair

Between July 20 and 21, 2018, Northern Nigeria writers converged on the Command Guest House, Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for the 2018 edition of the Northern Nigeria Writers Summit (NNWS). Maiduguri is one town most affected by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency. Several lives have been lost and many people displaced. Yet, these dispiriting realities didn’t douse Northern Nigerian writers' desire to choose the town as a meeting point to discuss the development of literature in the region. One of the motivating factors for this choice was the ardent will of the   Borno State Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Kashim Shettima to support literature. According to the Chairman, Northern Nigeria Writers’ Summit and former General Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors, BM Dzukogi, the choice of Maiduguri was “part of the rebuilding of Borno State” and to begin   “the process of literary regeneration in the re

The Miles Morland Foundation  has opened submissions for  its 2018 Writing Scholarships.  The awards offer a fiction scholarship of £18,000 to two, three or four writers over the course of twelve months, and a nonfiction scholarship of £27,000 to a single writer over the course of eighteen months.  Entries must be book proposals for only fiction and creative nonfiction which must not be less than 80,000 words when completed. The only mandatory requirement during the period of the scholarship is the submission of 10,000 new words on a monthly basis, until the book is completed. ​ GUIDELINES 1. A submission of between 2,000 to 5,000 words as a Word document of work that has been published and offered for sale. 2. A description of between 400 – 1,000 words about the new book you intend to write.  3. A scan of an official document showing that you, or both of your parents, were born in Africa. 4. A brief bio of between 200 – 300 words. 5. Please

  Professor Edith Ihekweazu’s historical book, ‘ Experience Abroad’ would be presented to Nigerian readers next month, Publishers of the book have said. Chief Dillibe Onyeama, CEO of Delta Publications (Nigeria) Limited describes the book as the ‘most beautiful, insightful and compelling historical books ever published on the blending of races’. The author, Professor Ihekweazu, a German academic who is married to a Nigerian has produced in the book, a rich result of outstanding research covering many centuries that exposes a scarcely known aspect of the stunning experiences of African travelers of of the past. The blurb says “ The... book follows a wide cross-section of African travellers   their adventurous discovery of the Western world - from the 17th-century Igbo slave Olaudah Equiano, to the 18th-century Ugandan statesman Sir Apolo Kwagwa; from the 19th-century Hausa servants Dorugu and Abbega through to such modern-day travellers as Buchi Emecheta the " Se

NLNG Limited, sponsor of Africa’s most prestigious literary prize, the Nigeria Prize for Literature,  has released the longlist for the 2018 NLNG Prize. This year, the $100,000 prize would go to a playwright. On the longlist is the Denja Abdullahi, the National president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), for his play, Death and The King’s Grey Hair .   A statement by Andy Odeh, Manager, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs of NLNG, shows that the 2018 longlist of 11 plays, chosen from 89 entries, was selected by a panel of three judges led by Matthew Umukoro, professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan. Other members of the panel include Mohammed Inuwa Umar - Buratai, professor of Theatre and Performing Arts and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU), Zaria; and Ngozi Udengwu, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.  The 2018 Prize jury was appo

Come this Friday, July 27 2018, Poets in Nigerian (PIN) will again bring together, writers, poets, visual artists, literary critics as well as lovers of literature from various parts of the country for another grand event. The 'Spoken Word Slam' event, which is being organized by the University of Ibadan (UI) Connect Centre of the PIN would hold at the University's Arts Theatre and will feature various categories of competitions, including “poetry slam” and “oratory contest”. A statement from Rasak Malik Gbolahan, on behalf of PIN, indicate that the event would be spiced with a stage performance of " Frantic Vultures " by Gabriel Okonkwo , as directed by Raji Joseph. Guest poets expected at the event include established and budding poets like Eriata Oribhabor who is the National President of the Poets in Nigeria (PIN), Professor Francis Egbokhare, Servio Gbadamosi (the Winner of ANA Poetry Prize 2016), and Ndubuisi Martins. Others are Kolade Ol

The sixth edition of Uganda’s premier literary festival, (Writivism 2018) will hold from August 17th to 19th, 2018 at the National Theatre and the Square Place, Kampala with the theme “Legacy”. During this year’s edition, speakers and participants will celebrate the various ways that history can be used to inspire new narratives. Prominent speakers and authors expected at the festival include Professor Taban Lo Liyong,   Goretti Kyomuhendo, Akwaeke Emezi ( Freshwater ), Ijangolet Ogwang ( An Image in a Mirror ), Mugabi Byenkya ( Dear Philemona ), Dami Ajayi ( A Woman’s Body is a Country ), and Shadreck Chikoti ( Azotus the Kingdom ) among several others. This edition will discuss how history is refreshed, bargained and adapted to inform the present and future. Highlights shall be book launches, film screenings, panel discussions, poetry and music performances, outreach to hospitals, markets and schools, visual arts and photography exhibitions, keynote addresses, Writi

After a successful debut outing in February this year in Agege, a suburb of Lagos, multitalented Evelyn Osagie, a literary journalist with the The Nation newspapers, who is also known on stage as “Evelyn D’Poet” yesterday, July 20 th , 2018 took her message of peace and unity to Somolu in Lagos where she preaches these through poetry and arts works. The event tagged “WORDS MEET IMAGES” featured Evelyn Osagie’s TOGETHER SERIES, an outdoor Art exhibition with open-air poetry and musical performances. “WORDS MEET IMAGES (WMI) has become a melting pot that not only brings together different art forms, but also people from various places and social strata together. This edition focused on the use of poetry and visual art (photography) to drive home the need for peace and unity. The 2019 general elections are drawing nearer and Evelyn Osagie believes that, in the face of diverse national and security concerns, there is the need to continue with her campaign for peace and unity

The Northern Nigerian Writers’ Summit (NNWS) is set to hold its conference in Maiduguri, Borno State with the theme, “Developing a Blueprint for the Growth of Literature in Northern Nigeria: A Roadmap to Book Development and Distribution in the Region.” This fourth conference which starts from tomorrow July 19 – 22, is fully sponsored by the Borno State Government whose Governor, Alhaji Kasimu Shettima is the Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum. Writers, academics, publishers, administrators, booksellers, librarians, professionals and students from the 19 northern states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, will gather to work out a holistic design on how to develop literature in the region. BM Dzukogi, Chairman of the Summit, informs the Arts-Muse Fair that Prof. Tanimu Abubakar of the Department of English and literary studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, will lead over forty other paper presenters on different topics. Gov. Kashim

Ar-Rahman she was reciting suratul Rahman when she got to the verse: fabi ayyiha la ir rabiku ma tukazziban she held me close and kissed me a light shone in my mouth and i gulped it is this not haram, i asked she smiled and replied which of the favours of Allah would you deny there are two heavenly muezzins veiled by her hijab that call me: hayya alal falah, hayya alal falah so i hasten to salvation in the Eden masjid, her body alhamd Allahul Akbar which among your favours would a sane man deny i was thirsty there is a dam below her torso my lips grew into diggers so i dug until i found water a girl is a dam holding thirst-quenching waters which among the favours of Allah would you deny He created thirst and created a river in the body of a woman  epitaph (for the graves i know, unmarked) here lies aisha adele, 38 cold in a ritzy #700,000 coffin she slipped and broke life's earthen jar looking for #700

Poet Saddiq M Dzukogi had all attention focused on him yesterday by family, friends and fans at the Amab Bookshop, Minna when the Arts-Muse Fair blog hosted him on its debut artists’ showcase event,   Arttention. The event gave attention to the poetry and person of Saddiq Dzukogi, one of the finest from Nigeria’s tribe of young, prolific poets. It came fittingly well, as the poet prepares to leave for America later this month for his doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he would be an Othmer Fellow. Saddiq Dzukogi read poems from his latest book, Inside the Flower Room. There were discussions on his poetry and his life of writing and scholarship. Guests won prizes of books in a quiz centred on the remarkable life and writings of the poet.   Saddiq Dzukogi was a finalist in the 2017 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. He is a fellow of the Ebedi International Writers Residency.     David Ishaya Osu moderating a session with Saddi