Category Archives: Ake Festival

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A snapshot of the Ake Festival 2014 in Nigeria

Lola Shoneyin, Governor Ibikunle Amosu, First lady of Ogun State, Ogun State Commisioner of Culture and Tourism and Commisioner of Culture and Tourism

The Ake Arts & Books Festival was hosted in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria from 18-22 November. The festival organised by Lola Shoneyin and her team had a huge number of very cool artists to attend a literary festival if this list is anything to go by. This is one of the festivals where I couldn’t find a single complaint from the guests who had attended which was a bit disconcerting as bloggeratti like myself need controversy. Drama and mishaps are the things that drive traffic and none seemed to be forthcoming and for this I salute the team.

Not on offer ;'(

The festival supported by the governor of Abeokuta State Ibikunle Amosu and his administration itself had many events. There were films and plays galore for those who want to experience the written word as acted by thespians who know their craft. No Nollywood type fare with ghosts looking left and right before crossing the road or mermaids which had brooms for the tails were on offer. The films and documentaries were the likes of Yeepa a filmed play by Tunde Kelani and October 1 by Kunle Afolayan and The Art of Ama Ato Aido by Yaba Badoe. Then there was plays like Qudus: My Exile is in my Head and a musical Call Mr. Robeson.

This blog is not one dedicated to all the arts but has a focus on literature from the continent and there was a lot on offer on this for those lucky folks who love African lit in Abeokuta State. There were book chats with fans of books chatting with authors like Okey Ndibe, Nnedi Okorafor, Zukiswa Wanner, Nike Campbell-Fatoki, Yejide Kilanko, Barnaby Philips, Chude Jideonwo. And Olusegun Obasanjo who was president of Nigeria and has several books of the memoir type to his name. There also the launch of Beverly Nambozo‘s poetry anthology A Thousand Voices Rising. Also in the house was Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka who we are all celebrating as he goes through Soyinka @ 80.

There there many panel discussions where authors of prose and poetry discussed such topics as Mutation and Mutilation: Feminism in Africa, What are publishers looking for in fiction, Poisonous Gas: The Crude Oil Politics in West Africa and many more.

There were also important announcements on the Caine Prize judges for 2015, the new Mabati-Cornell Kiswahil prize and the new Writivism mentees were unveiled.

After the whole conference, without any drama to tout I sadly add, the evening ended on Saturday with a shebang that was so loud (maybe the neighbours complained hopefully?) that we could hear the stomping of feet to Dorrobucci from Nairobi where we were mourning the “mauling” of Arsenal by Man United. And some other more national matters.

Here are a few other views from the people who were actually there;

Here are some images from the events of the festival courtesy of artists and organisers of the events.

Beverly Nambozo launches the anthology

Nnedi Okarofor

Okey Ndibe

Lola Shoneyin and Abeokuta State first lady Mrs Folusho Amosun

Olisakwe Ukamaka

Eghosa Imasuen, Zukiswa Wanner and Jekwu Ozoemene

Mukoma Wa Ngugi

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Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African literature is here

Mukoma Wa Ngugi’s blow against the metaphysical empire

Kiswahili is the most important language in the East African region having been born in the Indian Ocean coast and rapidly spreading inland. The language is spoken in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the eastern part of the DRC and Mozambique.

Today a new prize for those who write the language was announced at the Ake Festival in Akeokuta, Nigeria. (Everything is being announced there it seems) The new prize is the The Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature and as you can tell from the name is sponsored by Kenya’s Mabati Rolling Mills and USA’s Cornell University.

The brains behind the new prize are Mukoma Wa Ngugi and Lizzy Attree. Mukoma while recognized for his own writing is a disciple of his father’s Ngugi Wa Thiong’o who is a huge proponent of African languages. He has followed in his dads footsteps battling the “metaphysical empire” and thus his being one of the people behind it makes perfect sense. Speaking at the announcement he said that the “prize recognizes that all languages are created equal and no one language should thrive at the expense of the other. But beyond that recognition, the Prize sets a historical precedent for African philanthropy by Africans and shows that African philanthropy can and should be at the center of African cultural production.”

Attree is the executive director of Caine Prize which has been at the forefront of identifying literature on the continent but in English. On this new prize she said, “While there exists international literary prizes for African writing such as the Caine Prize and the recently established, Etisalat Prize, there are no major international and Pan-African literary prizes awarded to works produced in an African language. The Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, makes an important contribution to the body of world literature, the establishment of this new literary prize sets a precedent for other literature in African languages to follow.”

So how does it work? The prize will be awarded to the best unpublished manuscript or book published within two years of the award year across the categories of fiction, poetry and memoir, and graphic novels. The prize money of 15,000 US dollars will be given to three writers and the winning entry will be published in Kiswahili by East African Educational Publishers (EAEP). The best poetry book will be translated and published by the Africa Poetry Book Fund.

The three hottest new writers in Swahili on the continent will be unveiled at an award ceremony at the Cornell University, Africana Studies Center. The writers will be in residence at Cornell University for one week after which they will then be in residence for an additional week at a partner institution (in the USA or in Africa). The second and third award ceremonies will be held in Kenya and Tanzania respectively.

Sounds great no? That’s because it is. So where are the funds for this whole venture coming from? Well as mentioned its Mabati Rolling Mills (think Manu Chandaria) and Cornell University.

Sarit Shah, a director of Mabati Rolling Mills, lent his support to the big prize “Supporting literature and literacy is crucial to the development of a thriving culture, and Mabati Rolling Mills is proud to provide financial support for the foundation of a new venture in African language publishing.”

On his part Laurie Damiani, the Director of International Initiatives at Cornell University’s Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs said the office “is pleased to co-sponsor this exciting new initiative. It is an honor to be part of an effort that promotes vibrant literary traditions and encourages meaningful interaction between the peoples of East Africa.”

Sing it with me Swahili speakers, “Kiswahiiiiiili kitukuzweeeeee, kwa ni lughaaaa ya taifaaaa.” Take that metaphysical empire.

P.S. The name for that prize is quite a mouthful. What shall we calling it? The Mabati? The MC award? The That-Swahili-award-whats-it-called-again? Give us your suggestions hey?