The Arts-Muse Fair

Leaving home for school, and the other way round, was always dreadful when it meant having to sit for hours on end in ridiculously tiny Hiace buses that mostly plied the saddening South-West federal roads that connected the lip-sealing deadly ones up North. If you were travelling from Lagos to Zaria, you had to spend an entire day on those roads, sandwiched between other passengers, most times, the space meant for the movement of your feet, compromised by loads, so that your knees were practically up in the air, as though they were yearning for a catch-up with your chest. If you didn't control them- because buses like that never had enough space between a row of seats and another- the passenger in the seat in front of you had a bone to pick with you, half as much as you had one to pick with the one behind you. It was always a long-ass journey with a heavy dose of non-stop grumbling and fight for comfort. No one ever won, we only got "gifts", like the kil

Maryam Awaisu just got two books published by Amab Books; The Thing About Compromise, a novel, and Ms.Joana's Rules , a children fiction. Here are 10 answers the writer gave to questions about the books and her self. Enjoy.    Thematically, your novels tend to be plotted around cultural specifics; you pick a critical issue then weave stories around it. In   Burning Bright ,   we have ‘a story of a family struggling…in the face of severe emotional challenges…’ through sickle cell anemia challenges. Now in   The Thing About Compromise , we have a societal story weaved around another significant aspect of life. Why do you prefer this pattern or approach? I write about the things that keep me up at night, and usually these are societal issues I feel too small to impact. Writing is what I do best, so I create stories that would lead to some positive change, hopefully. Your new novel comes with the major character dissipating palpable emotions as she navigates through

The Praxis hangout, a physical event where creative people get together to discuss topical issues and find actionable solutions to problems will berth in Kano on Saturday, the 20th of July, 2019. Organized by Praxis Magazine Online, in collaboration with Box Office Studios and Poetry for Change, the event which would mark the first Praxis hangout in Kano, will hold at the American Space, Murtala Muhammad Library.   Since October 2018, the theme of Praxis hangouts has been on Mental Health. So far, five editions have held in Durban, South Africa, Abuja and Kaduna where survivors and experts of mental illnesses were brought together to discuss and demystify mental illness. The Kano hangout will have Dr. Mustapha Ibrahim Gudaji, an Honorary Consultant Special Grade 1 as guest speaker. He is also a Senior Lecturer, and Former head of Psychiatry, Head of Unit Drug Abuse treatment, Education and Research Examiner, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. C

The quest to contribute to the availability of reading material for young African adults, promote literature, and broaden the intellectual horizon of African youth birthed the  Sarraounia Prize for Young Adult Fiction . The Centre for Arts and Culture of Abdou Moumouni University in Niger and Amalion Publishing house in Senegal jointly call for entries for the 2020 edition of the Sarraounia Prize. Every two years, the Sarraounia Prize is awarded to the best unpublished fiction for young adults written in English, French or Hausa by African authors and illustrators based in Africa. For the 2020 edition, the winner will receive a prize of 1,000 euros, and the winning entry will be published and disseminated by Amalion and its partners from May 2020. The Sarraounia Prize will explore all traditional and digital media technologies to disseminate its activities and will endeavour to promote the writer and their work in various forums, in order to bring their work to th

In the year 2003, I- a freshman DE student, who had no idea anything else could be tougher than the A-Levels hell hole I had just emerged from, totally brainscathed- met a man. If you were a DE student, you had to juggle between five courses with your own classmates, and six, with 100 level students. No one gave a fuck if one or two of your lectures from both classes clashed. You had to roll with the punches. Really, you had no choice even as you slumbered and woke up with a start, trying to stay afloat, and constantly adjusting the Confusionist label that always announced your physical appearance. You didn't, not when you were offered admission when half the semester had already gone and the school was on mid-semester break. My first time trying to locate my class, I barged into the office that housed the many, old security officers of the entire Kongo Campus, "Your class...er...is the security office. Go there" was what I had been told. There are levels to

We are pleased to welcome the trio of Nana Sule, Paul Liam, and Hajara Wodu into  The Arts-Muse Fair  family. They are bringing into the team their beautiful creativity, awesome versatility and amazing energy that have consistently marked out their individual writings which span the genres of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Nana Sule Nana Sule   joins The Arts-Muse Fair as Associate Editor. She will work directly with the  Founding Editor  to curate engaging Africa-themed literature and arts contents which the site is famed for.  Nana Sule holds a B.Tech in Estate Management and Valuation, and is the Author of A New Name . She is the Co-Founder, Young People for African Development- YPAD and a 2018 Ebedi Fellow. She is also a member of Regional Centre for Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development- RCE Minna. She has published a number of short stories on literary blogs, and has organised/moderated many readings, literary  and environmental eve

Poets in Nigeria (PIN) has released the shortlist of the fourth edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP). A statement from Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom, Moderator of NSPP 2019 explained that a 5-man judging panel including Professor Al-Bishak, Professor Hulya N. Yilmaz, Dr. Obari Gomba, Kukogho Iruesiri Samson and Gbenga Adesina reviewed 504 entries for the selection of top 10 poems as the shortlist. The shortlisted poems are as follows:    • AN ARTEFACT OF A GROIN WAR | Ehi-kowochio Ogwiji (University of Ibadan) • THE LAST DINNER (The Lost Piece of a Broken little girl) | Anuoluwa Olusegun Soneye (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) • THE VISIT | Ibelachi Franklyn Chinedu (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli) • MICAH | Ogugua Micah Okoye (Enugu State University of Science and Technology Enugu) • WAILING MOTHER | Oghenetega praise Offideh (University of Benin) • AFRICA: A COMPENDIUM OF AFFLICTIONS | Hussani Abdulrahim (Usmanu Danfodio Univers