Edited: Poetry and Writing Announcements and Releases to Apply/Attend/Look forward To

Praire Schooner Celebrates African Poetry
Thursday, February 27, 2014
[Time] 7:00pm until 8:15pm in PST
APBF will also host an Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) panel, “New Generation African Women Poets,” on February 28 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. in Room 400 of the WA State Convention Center, Level 4, and a celebratory reception on February 27 from 7 to 8:15 p.m. in the Juniper Room at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. The reception is open to the public. Join Prairie Schooner (@TheSchooner) in the Juniper Room of the Sheraton Seattle Hotel for a reception to celebrate Prairie Schooner growing its international reach through its partnership with the African Poetry Book Fund. This event is a celebration of contemporary African poetry, is free and open to the public, and there will be complimentary food and drink. Please invite friends!

Writers’ Project hosts Nigerian writer Chuma Nwokolo for a Reading
The Writers Project of Ghana (@writersPG) proudly presents a public reading with Nigerian writer, attorney and publisher, Chuma Nwokolo (@chumanwokolo). Chuma is a fantastic writer. Writers’ Project book discussion club last year read his collection Diaries of a Dead African.
This reading offers the opportunity to meet and interact with Chuma Nwokolo. There will be a short discussion session after the reading.
Date: Wednesday, 19th February, 2014.
Time 7:00pm – 8:30pm.
Location: International House, University of Ghana, Legon.
Admission is free.

Kofi Awoonor’s Next Book Publishes Posthumously: The Promise of Hope: New and selected poems
Prior to his death in the Kenya Westgate Mall attack, Kofi Awoonor was due to release this book titled “Promise of Hope: New and Selected Poems.” It is to be the lead book of the new African Poetry Book Series to appear this year. Foreworded by Kwame Dawes (@kwamedawes) and set to be published in March by University of Nebraska Press, the book was part of reasons Awoonor was at the Storymoja Hay Festival in Kenya in order to push some advance publicity for the book. Look out for the release of this last anthology we will read from Awoonor, summing up fifty years of his activist, political and traditional life as a poet. Introduction and editing by Kofi Anyidoho.

Commonwealth Writers’ Non-fiction Workshop, Uganda 9-13 June 2014
Commonwealth Writers invites East African writers aged 18 and over to apply for the 10 places in the workshop. Writers from Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, living and working in East Africa, are eligible to apply. There will be two places allocated per country. This is a residential workshop. All travel (from elsewhere in East Africa), accommodation and meals will be provided for successful applicants. There is no fee to attend the workshop. To be considered, please apply to writers@commonwealth.int by Friday 28 February. Led by the Chair of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and former deputy editor of Granta, Ellah Allfrey (@epwa66), the workshop will explore different ways to approach creative non-fiction. Detailed application requirements on their site here.

Creative Writing Masterclass with Yewande Omotoso in Accra on March 8th.

From Kinna Reads: Yewande Omotoso will teach a creative writing master class in Accra, on Saturday March 8th 2014.  Ama Ata Aidoo will also be there as a resource person and special guest.The master class is organized by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and Mbaasem Foundation. The class is free. Women writers interested in attending the class should send a short bio and a sample story or article to info@mbaasem.net by Friday February 21st.  Successful applicants will be notified by February 28th. The master class will focus on the craft of writing and will also address writers’ issues with their ongoing works-in-progress. Yewande Omotoso is a writer and her debut novel, Bom Boy has been shortlisted for the 2014 Etisalat Prize.  Find more on Omotoso from AWDF.