Chimamanda's Half of a Yellow Sun named among BBC's 12 greatest novels of the 21st Century

Our favorite feminist Chimamanda is in the news again. This time her novel Half of a Yellow Sun was named among BBC’s 12 greatest novels of the 21st Century.

BBC Culture, in a recent poll of several international best selling novels, choose Half of a Yellow Sun as it's 10th spot on the list of 12.

According to author and criticWalton Muyumba, “Half of a Yellow Sun is a tour de force, artistically and intellectually.It is also a serious political novel about love in wartime”

Battabox asks Nigerians about the last time they read a book

My fellow Nigerians, we are back on this book matter again o!

Nigeria is a country filled with educated people, but how many people actually strive to educate themselves outside the walls of a school?

BattaBox, Nigeria's most interactive news & entertainment channel based in Lagos, took to the streets to ask Nigerians when last they read a book.

Watch and find out more about Nigerians attitude towards reading.

Source: BattaBox

50 Shades of Grey movie banned by Nigerian Censor Board

The much anticipated romantic drama, Fifty Shades of Grey adapted from the novel by British novelist Erika Leonard premiered in London on Valentine's weekend of 2015.

The movie which was set to air across Nigeria cinema's is now said to be banned by the Nigerian Censor Board following the protest by Campaigners against domestic violence at the UK premiere last week.

New Books Blame Jonathan for Nigeria’s Downturn

By Gboyega Akinsanmi 

Three recently published books, which x-rayed Nigeria’s socio-political development under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, have blamed the president for diverse issues undermining the country’s unity.

The books, edited by three retired scholars namely Emeritus Professor John Ayoade, Prof. Adeoye Akinsanya and Prof. Olatunde Ojo, are “The Jonathan Presidency: The First Year, The Jonathan Presidency: The Sophomore Year, and Nigeria: Descent into Anarchy and Collapse?”

The books were publicly presented at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, under the chairmanship of the institute’s Director-General, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, was reviewed by Dr. Ademola Omo Orangun. Read more..

Promoting artistry among school children: Kids Imagine and Achieve with OMO

It’s a new year and once again, Omo is asking children in Primary schools across Nigeria to set their imagination free.

Yes, Mommies and Daddies, the 2015 Omo Imagine and Achieve Creative Arts and Essay Competition is so on! And your child’s future ambition is about to be unleashed.

Whether you’ve got a little Picasso on your hands or a future Chimamanda, the Creative Arts and Essay competition has got them covered.

So, what are you waiting for – get your kids registered in participating schools and let their Imagination achieve Prizes from Laptops & bicycles to millions of naira to bring your child’s dream to life!

Visit https://www.facebook.com/myomonigeria for more details.

Seek and you shall find: Find out Top Stories that had Nigerians Googling in January 2015

These are the Top Stories that had Nigerians Googling in January 2015

While Nigerians were ushering in the New Year, outspoken Catholic Priest, Father Ejike Mbaka was calling on Nigerians to usher President Goodluck Jonathan out of office come election time. His reason? The President had surrounded himself with so many corrupt officers, he could no longer see the terrible price the Masses were paying. The reactions to the YouTube video which has now attracted almost 400,000 views was mixed.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo launches his book in the United Kingdom despite Abuja High Court injunction not to publish

Article by Dailytimes.com.ng

About two months after an Abuja High Court found him guilty of contempt for launching his autobiography in defiance of its order, former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will on Wednesday evening present the book to another audience in the United Kingdom.

Hollywood Actor, David Oyelowo attends the premiere of Selma n Nigeria

The Golden Globe Award nominated movie SELMA is a story about the struggle by African Americans that lead to the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. 

The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.(played by David Oyelowo) led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery was one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. 

On Sunday 8 February, 2015, the movie was premiered in Nigeria for the first time and in attendance was David Oyelowo and co-cast Carmen Ejogo who played his wife in the movie.

See photos of some of the Nollywood stars that graced the occasion after the cut.

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week

Drawn & Quarterly is one of Montreal's premiere independent bookstores and magazine publication.

  

In the weekly Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week, the Montreal bookstore has recommended several new works of fiction, art books, periodicals, and comics for readers across the world for the month of February.

The list includes our favorite feminist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. See recommended books after the cut.

The Red Card Movement: Group advocates full political participation

Spurred by an unprecedented sense of urgency, a fresh voice has been added to rallying the country’s electorate to redeem the political process and propagate a culture of accountability by actively participating in the upcoming 2015 general elections. 

Chimamanda speaks on electricity in Nigeria

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was recently featured in New York Times. In the interview she talked at length about the deteriorating power supply in Nigeria. See the full article after the cut.

Web poet's society: African poetry goes mobile

Linda Kaoma is on the hunt in East Africa. Her tour of the region will see her travel to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Not in search of lions, rhinos or other big game. Rather she's on a quest for a much more elusive creature -- the African poet.

"We have a rich oral tradition and it's important that we document what is happening in history poetry-wise," she explains. "Africa has a history of a lack of documentation and we really didn't want this to happen to our poets."

Kaoma, 29, is part of the team behind the Badilisha Poetry X-Change, the largest online archive of African poetry, accessible via mobile phone, in the world.

The Badilisha project was originally conceived as an annual poetry festival overseen by the Africa Centre, a pan-African organization based in Cape Town in 2008. Over the following years it grew to become a powerful mouthpiece for showcasing African wordsmiths. And by 2012, the institution decided to move online in an effort to break down geographical borders and open up their diverse anthology to a wider audience in Africa.