Africa & Friends in the Bay Area

Travelers/Travel Writers,

I'm soliciting stories about CITIES for the Decolonising Travel section of Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature (though we publish all genres and forms). No payment.

I'm specifically looking for a personal reflection piece on the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama by a BIPOC author to pair with another perspective.

I'm also seeking essays or visual stories that take us into, around, atop, or below the city. Sensory maps that offer new ways of experiencing neighbourhoods. Guides to navigating contested urban territories. Passage through ancient cities and floating cities. New takes on mythologised cities that have lured travellers for centuries. Meditations on megacities and temporary cities. Portraits of cities as characters.

I am committed to working with underrepresented voices and those from the global majority, and seek writing that interrogates travel privilege and imperialist language. Please send completed works (preferably 1,000-3,000 words) via Submittable by JUNE 14:

Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature Submission Manager We are open for submissions during the following periods. July 2024 issue: 1st May – 14th June 2024 November 2024 issue: 1st September – 14th October 2024 March 2025 issue: 1st January – 14th February 2025​For our July 2024 issue, we have chosen the theme of 'Cities.' Other forthcoming them...

TOMORROW!!!

African Literary Award Ceremony 2023 | MoAD The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is pleased to announce the 2023 African Literary Award. The award recognizes an African author who has produced a work of literary excellence and taken a leadership role in promoting writing and literacy in their local communities.

2023 AFRICAN LITERARY AWARD SHORTLIST

Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2023 African Literary Award.

The judges selected the following two novels and two collections of short stories for the shortlist for the award, taking into consideration the strength of the writing and their ability to highlight new stories, and the impact of these books on the landscape of contemporary African literature.

The four shortlisted authors are the following:

📚Meron Hadero, A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times: Stories (Restless Books 2022)

📚Arinze Ifeakandu, God's Children Are Little Broken Things: Stories (A Public Space Books 2022)

📚Noor Naga, When An Egyptian Cannot Speak English: A Novel (Graywolf 2022)

📚Eloghosa Osunde, Vagabonds!: A Novel (Penguin Random House 2022)

The final winner will be announced on Monday, November 20, 2023.

A free, virtual Award Ceremony will take place Sunday, December 3, 2023 and will include a live reading and conversation with the winner to be moderated by Faith Adiele.

Generous funding for the African Literary Award has been provided by MoAD member, Cedric Brown, a supporter of arts in the diaspora. Learn more about African Book Club and the shortlisted authors here: https://www.moadsf.org/programs-residencies-awards/african-literary-award-2023

This weekend!

Small World, Big Love with Faith Adiele: Reunion in the Village, Part 2 Faith Adiele returns home again to Nigeria, this time with a PBS crew to film her story. Halle Barry aids her through customs - read how here.

Kunle Afolayan on Aníkúlápó : ‘I said this movie would be bigger than Game of Thrones’ The Nigerian director explains how his film has become a huge Netflix hit and why he doesn’t care it’s been overlooked for an Oscar

African Book Club | If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga | Programs and Events An ongoing series in partnership with host and African Book Club co-Founder Faith Adiele. October's book selection is If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga.‍

It's definitely not a good year to be a motorcycle taxi driver in Nigeria They've been banned in many districts in bustling Lagos. Commuters who rely on the taxis are in a pickle. And the drivers can't earn a living. What's behind this prohibition?

Whatever happened to the Kenyan farmer who turned a dump into a garden of giveaways? Victor Edalia turned a trash dump into a farm. He hoped to earn extra income but decided to give away free produce during the pandemic. Now hundreds of needy families enjoy his harvest.

https://www.moadsf.org/event/african-book-club-glory-by-noviolet-bulawayo
AFRICAN BOOK CLUB TOMORROW! THURSDAY JUNE 23, 2022, 12:00-1:00 PM PDT / 21.00-22.00 CEST

The lost Jews of Nigeria The long read: Until the 1990s, there were almost no Jews in Nigeria. Now thousands have enthusiastically taken up the faith. Why?

Abdulrazak Gurnah named winner of Nobel Literature Prize 2021

AKO Caine Prize: Meron Hadero named first Ethiopian winner Judges praised Meron Hadero's short story The Street Sweep which ends in a "clever twist".

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fibroids-friday-sister-circle-a-space-to-write-all-the-feels-tickets-163097971423

Fibroid Friday Sister Circle: A Space to Write All the Feels In honor of Fibroid Awareness Month, a reading and writing space curated for and by Black women with uterine fibroids.

La nouvelle scène littéraire africaine / Vendredi 28 mai, 2021

Retrouvez Imbolo Mbue (Cameroun), Yaya Diomandé (Côte d’Ivoire), et Ni**od (Tchad) à l'occasion du Littérature Live Festival. https://www.villagillet.net/evenements/la-nouvelle-scene-litte-raire-africaine

Happy Birthday to African Book Club co-founder Holly!

Germany first to hand back Benin bronzes looted by British Culture minister says country is facing up to ‘historic and moral responsibility’ by returning artefacts to Nigeria

Sunday!

"In the Company of Men" explores critical questions about how we cope with and how we can combat fear and prejudice. March’s African Diaspora Book Club selection is written by author Véronique Tadjo! RSVP today in bio to join our virtual book club on March 28, 2021. Register today at moadsf.org/calendar.

"This poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity’s place in the world."

In a series of moving snapshots, Véronique Tadjo illustrates the terrible extent of the Ebola epidemic, through the eyes of those affected in myriad ways: the doctor who tirelessly treats patients day after day in a sweltering tent, protected from the virus only by a plastic suit; the student who volunteers to work as a gravedigger while universities are closed, helping the teams overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies; the grandmother who agrees to take in an orphaned boy cast out of his village for fear of infection. And watching over them all is the ancient and wise Baobab tree, mourning the dire state of the earth yet providing a sense of hope for the future.

Véronique Tadjo is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Côte d’Ivoire. She earned a doctorate in Black American Literature and Civilization from the Sorbonne, Paris IV, and went to the United States as a Fulbright scholar at Howard University in Washington, DC. She headed the French Department of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg up until 2015. Her books have been translated into several languages, from The Blind Kingdom (1991) to The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda (2001) and Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice (2005), which was awarded the Grand Prix de Littérature d’Afrique noire 2005.

This virtual event is an ongoing series in partnership with Faith Adiele.

The World’s First Premium African Caribbean Rum Reimagines a 400-Year-Old Category Black-owned and bartender-owned, Equiano—a top shelf blend of Caribbean and Mauritian rums—is a nuanced and dynamic spirit in more ways than one. Cocktail writer Dan Q. Dao spoke to founders Ian Burrell and Aaisha Dadral about the inspiration behind this transatlantic brand.

SUNDAY African Book Club!

https://www.moadsf.org/event/african-book-club-fairytales-for-lost-children-by-diriye-osman/

African Book Club | FAIRYTALES FOR LOST CHILDREN by Diriye Osman (2021-02-28) THE AFRICAN BOOK CLUB @ MOAD An ongoing series in partnership with Faith Adiele. February’s book selection is Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman. How to participate: Get a copy of the book, read it in advance of the meeting, and then discuss the book with a group of people intere

NEXT THURSDAY!

In the Company of Men: A Novel on Zoom Drawing on real accounts of the Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa, this poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity's place in the world. Co-sponsored by Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)

I call bullsh*t

Uganda Election: President Yoweri Museveni Declared Winner As Bobi Wine Alleges Fraud Uganda's electoral commission says Museveni has won a sixth term in office, but Wine is saying the election was rigged, and the top U.S. diplomat to Africa is calling the vote "fundamentally flawed."