Apply to Chigozie Obioma’s Masterclass

by | Jan 21, 2021 | Gist Corner

                                         

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Osiri University is organizing a Creative Writing Masterclass titled, Believable Fiction: How Characters Shape Stories. The class will be taught by two times Booker Prize Nominee, Prof. Chigozie Obioma. The goal of this workshop is to help “writers from the [Africa] continent and the diaspora gain the necessary skills for effective storytelling.”

 Obioma made this announcement view his Facebook page:

“I have often said that the best fiction, to my mind, is whose plot is primarily emergent from character. Thus, this class will focus very much on character-driven stories and how to make them effective. It will be a mix of craft talks and focused discussions on various elements of characterization and storytelling. To achieve this, I will assign different materials for us to read in order to better understand craft and techniques. And in response to these readings, we will do some practice exercises. At the end of the session, we will have a workshop for the stories written by the participants.”

Here is how the class is being structured:

  • Participants will meet in 3 Sessions of the workshops in the month of March (on Saturdays). The times are yet to be determined by the organizers.
  • The first part of the class will be based on craft discussion and writing tasks.
  • The first two workshops in March will each last for 1 hour 30 minutes, while the third and final session will be 2 hours.
  • Students will discuss the stories of other participants with an eye to help the writers take their work to the best possible place.

The masterclass is free to apply to all Africans. Only ten participants will be selected.

Writers are to attach their CVs, cover letter, writing sample (a short story between 500-2500 words or a sample of a longer form fiction) alongside the application form.  Please tick NEW to Osiri University if you are not an EXISTING student of the university.

Visit here to fill the form as well as to attach your documents.

Osiri University is a solutions-driven university based in the United State. Its focus is on developing a learner’s talents including critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence. The university is based on the African system of 3 C’s: cooperation, compassion, and co-prosperity.

Good luck from all of us at Afreecan Read!