The 24th Nairobi International Book Fair (NIBF), which took place from September 27 to October 1 at the Sarit Expo Center in Nairobi, Kenya, held the first international rights fair in East Africa. Read more
Africa is a continent of 54 countries and some 1.4 billion people, speaking-and sometimes writing and publishing-in hundreds of languages. The book business on the continent is diverse and eclectic. We convened a group of several top practitioners to get a sample of the triumphs and challenges they face.
The Nigerian-American author won the Orange Prize in 2007 and her ‘Half of a Yellow Sun' has been voted the best of the Women's Prize's 25 years of winners.
Two African women are in the running for the 2020 Booker Prize, in a historic first for the UK's most prestigious literary prize - and a major boost for storytellers on the continent.
Wole Soyinka has used his time in lockdown to write his first novel in almost 50 years.
The Nigerian playwright and poet, who became the first African to win the Nobel prize for literature in 1986, published his widely celebrated debut novel, The Interpreters, in 1965. His second and most recent novel, Season of Anomy, was released in 1973.
Thabiso Mahlape is the founder of Blackbird Books in South Africa, an independent publishing house that is dedicated to giving young black writers a platform (www.blackbirdbooks.africa)... In between juggling submissions, proofs and sales, Mahlape is a columnist: she writes regularly for the Sowetan newspaper and has contributed to magazines such a Destiny and VISI. Read more
Critically acclaimed author Irenosen Okojie has won the AKO Caine prize for African writing, crediting her win with giving her "extra confidence" as a black, female experimental writer who has felt she was "operating on the fringes". Read more
In the mid-20th century, a feverish movement for independence from colonial governments paired with a growing university-educated class, who pushed for education on the continent to be decolonized, created the perfect conditions for the birth of anglophone African publishing. Read more
London, 19 May 2020 - The shortlist for the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced, featuring five stories that "speak eloquently to the human condition" through a diverse array of themes and genres. This year's shortlist was determined virtually by the judging panel.
The shortlisted authors for this year's Prize are from Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania. Read more
As the Caine Prize contenders visit the UK in advance of the announcement of the winner next week, chair of the judges Dr Peter Kimani discusses what the prize has meant to African writing Read more
Following a recent survey by The Bookseller on royalties and advances, which revealed widespread problems around payments, authors have suggested changes they would like to see. Some publishers have also revealed they are exploring changes, with one looking at "moving away from an advances system", while the Society of Authors has said it has seen "an increased reliance on hardship grants".
Open to self-published authors in the UK.
Registration fee of £34.50 includes six-month subscription to Bookbrunch
Prize:
Each category winner receives £750 plus a profile in Bookbrunch
Now in their seventh year, the hugely popular Selfies book awards - powered by UK book trade journal BookBrunch and sponsored by Ingram Spark® and LitPR - will again reward three self-published authors for their publishing excellence. Read more
As someone who's on their sixth novel and has had their ups and downs, I'm aware of how privileged and lucky I have been, and what a shock it can be for debut writers - all the reality of that world, and that new voice and when the book doesn't quite take off, it's a shock. Read more
‘Starting with a blank page is part of what makes writing a book so vulnerable. A novel can be anything, and the way it turns out is highly personal.'
This week we have broken through 10,000 pages on the WritersServices site! Our huge site contains an enormous amount of information which can be accessed through the homepage or through Advice for Writers, which gives a breakdown of what is on the site.
‘Georgette Heyer was my favourite author, then and now.
Mashing genres can be a tricky business. Do it right, and you've created a short story, book or movie that remixes those respective genres' elements in new and exciting ways-for instance, Philip K. Dick memorably using a detective narrative to explore the post-apocalyptic setting of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
POD started off being closely associated with the self-publishing market, as it allows authors to publish for hundreds of dollars, if not zero dollars. It has never really shaken off that association, even though it has been a godsend for authors and publishers alike. Read more
'No poet, no artist of any art has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists.'
'I've been lucky'
As someone who's on their sixth novel and has had their ups and downs, I'm aware of how privileged and lucky I have been, and what a shock it can be for debut writers - all the reality of that world, and that new voice and when the book doesn't quite take off, it's a shock. Read more