The 2015 Short Story Day Africa Prize theme announced

Short Story Day Africa is a non-profit organisation that brings together writers, readers, booksellers and publishers from all over the globe to write, submit, read, workshop and discuss stories.

The organisation established a day, 21st June which is the shortest day of the year on which to celebrate the diversity of Africa’s voices and also a medium to tell the world, who Africans really are; what they love; to eat, read and write about.

The Short Story Day Africa was inspired by Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, speech at the TED Conference in 2009, where she spoke of the danger of the single story, a distorted, one-dimensional view of Africa that sees the continent only through a prism of war, disease, poverty, starvation and corruption. See report here.

The sequel to Nelson Mandela's 'Long Walk to Freedom' is set to be published in 2016

Graça Machel, the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela and former First Lady of South Africa recently announced her intention to complete the sequel to her late husband's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

The new book will express the former president's unique perspective on the first democratically elected government in South Africa's history.

Though the book is yet to be titled, it is said to be published in 2016 by Pan Macmillan and will provide readers with both an unprecedented account of Mandela’s extraordinary presidency and a deep personal insight into the man behind the international statesman.

Watch US President Barack Obama's message urging Nigerian's to vote in the upcoming election

Earlier today, President Barack Obama took time out of his busy schedule to leave a message on YouTube urging Nigerians to come out and vote in the upcoming elections.

Read on to see the transcription of the video.

Meet the 10-year-old maths genius who's just enrolled at college

CNN

At first glance Esther Okade seems like a normal 10-year-old. She loves dressing up as Elsa from "Frozen," playing with Barbie dolls and going to the park or shopping.But what makes the British-Nigerian youngster stand out is the fact that she's also a university undergraduate.

Esther, from Walsall, an industrial town in the UK's West Midlands region, is one of the country's youngest college freshmen.

The talented 10-year-old enrolled at the Open University, a UK-based distance learning college, in January and is already top of the class, having recently scored 100% in a recent exam.

Chimamanda’s ‘The Thing around Your Neck’ Features In ‘The Simpsons’

Our favorite feminist,  Chimamanda Adichie’s work is once more recognized and referred to by the writers and producers of the hit animation series, the Simpsons.  

In a new episode of the Simpsons titled ‘The Princess Guide’, Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’ makes a cameo appearance. The Thing Around Your Neck is a short story collection by Chimamanda, first published in April 2009 by Fourth Estate in the UK.

Workshop: Farafina Trust to hold Creative Writing Workshop in Lagos, calls for entries

Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, organized by award-winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from June 16 to June 26, 2015. 

The workshop is sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc. Guest writers who will co-teach the workshop alongside Adichie are the Caine Prize Winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina, National Librarian of Norway Aslak Sira Myhre, and others.

The workshop will take the form of a class. Participants will be assigned a wide range of reading exercises, as well as daily writing exercises. The aim of the workshop is to improve the craft of Nigerian writers and to encourage published and unpublished writers by bringing different perspectives to the art of storytelling. Participation is limited only to those who apply and are accepted.

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature To Focus on Literature and Cultures of the African Continent

The PEN World Voices is a week-long literary festival that holds in New York City. The Festival is composed of programs, readings, conversations, and debates that showcase international literature and new writers with an aim to advance literature, promote free expression, and foster international literary fellowship.

As the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature celebrates its 11th Annual Festival, more than 100 writers from 30 nations across the globe will converge in New York from May 4 to 10, 2015.

See full press release below.

Revving up the reading culture in Africa

Long story SHORT, a series of live readings at community libraries, will be launched on 27 March, in Olievenhoutbosch, South Africa with a story by Nozizwe Cynthia Jele being read by actress and Aids ambassador Hlubi Mboya.

The initiative, launched by arts and culture entrepreneur Kgauhelo Dube, will feature an actor reading a short story or excerpt from a novel by an African writer at a public event, followed by a discussion. The readings will then be packaged into literary podcasts for mobile and online platforms.

South African Songeziwe Mahlangu Emerges Winner of the 2014 Etisalat Prize for Literature

A literary award is usually presented to someone who has demonstrated skills in the mastery of book writing. The award honors writers who present their self-published or books published by a subsidy publisher or independent book publisher.

The Etisalat Prize for literature is Africa's foremost literary award competition that showcases the best of Africa's aspiring and upcoming writers. 

The overall winner of the 2014 Etisalat Prize for literature was announced yesterday, March 15th, 2015 in Lagos at a remarkable evening of wining and dining with lovers of literature from across Africa and beyond.

The evening began with a lovely meet-and-greet cocktail session followed by the announcement of the winner for the flash fiction category of the awards. Neema Komba took home the prize in this category which came with a cash bonus of  £1,000.

Graciously dramatized enactments of the shortlisted novels got the crowd excited and roaring in admiration.

Etisalat to Announce Winner of the 2014 Prize for Literature this Sunday

In December, Etisalat Nigeria released a shortlist in the running for the 2014 prize for Literature competition. See report here.

And now, the innovative telecommunication company, is set to unveil Africa’s best debut fiction writer at the prestigious Etisalat Prize for Literature awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos.

The ceremony will feature performances by Grammy award winning singer and song-writer, Angelique Kidjo who is billed to thrill a selection of high profile guests including writers, book critics and academics from across Africa.

SarotheMusical2 is back with a roar this Easter!

In December 2014, Saro the colorful and acclaimed musical thrilled Lagosians, leaving them asking for more. See report here.

If you missed the show in December, you'll be glad to know that Nigeria's most entertaining stage drama is back with a bang by popular demand to give you a memorable treat this Easter!

The awesome 100-man cast is ready to give you 13 live shows in 6 days, starting from April 1st to 6th 2015 at Shell Hall Muson Center, Lagos!

Save the dates and ensure you delight yourself and the family this Easter!

CNN's African Voices meets leading Nigerian stand-up comedian, Alibaba who gets his inspiration from books

“I had to use all my energy to get people to recognize and appreciate the fact that stand-up comedy was something that needed to be recognized and appreciated”

His house has a space he calls “the jokes factory” because it’s filled with materials such as Reader’s Digest magazines and Shakespeare – all to inspire his stand-up routines.

This week CNN’s ‘African Voices’ meets one of Nigeria’s leading stand-up comedians, Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerere - also known as Alibaba.

Born in 1965 in the delta state of Nigeria, during his formative years, Alibaba was a bright student. He tells ‘African Voices’: “My dad thought because you are this good you either become a lawyer or a broadcaster. But he was more concerned with me being a lawyer…so I went to university and read religious studies and philosophy…in year two, I discovered stand-up comedy. I discovered that I could make people laugh.”

This was not a deliberate path, however. “It happened by accident. I started as a heckler. So I'd sit in the show, as the event is going on, I just kept heckling whoever was on stage. I could even heckle people in the audience. That's how I found myself becoming a comedian. And gradually it became clear that I needed to do better than just telling jokes”, Alibaba tells the programme.

The budding comedian continued studying at the Bendel State University, where he started performing stand-up at his campus. His fame soon grew beyond the school environment, at the University of Benin, University of Lagos, University of Port Harcourt, before which other shows were organized by corporate bodies all around Nigeria.