Dear writers and readers,

I am pleased to inform you that Afreecan Read, an African literary initiative registered as an NGO in South Africa, will be back online with its literary magazine beginning from 15th September 2020, and with all the vigor and goodwill that you can associate with regenerateness. To know more about us, please click here.

Our online magazine is only one aspect of our being an NGO that promotes African literary culture. We have big dreams of making books available and affordable where they are not, creating reading communities across the continent especially in communities that have poor reading culture, encouraging the creation of literatures through literary awards and workshops. While our place of operation is South Africa, we consider all African countries of equal priority to us. The online magazine is a major aspect of our multifaceted work because it’s a huge window through which we see the world and the world sees us. Our social media outlets have served this noble purpose as well, making our writers known by our readers and vice versa, making literature something potent in a media-thumping world. Therefore I deem it necessary to make this announcement/statement to the many readers and writers we have garnered around the continent through our online presence.

First I apologize for our long silence. It seemed as though we had suddenly died. This has brought great disappointment to young writers whose prose and poems we had published online between 2016 and 2017, and our ardent readers who have shown keen interest in all that we published online. Many readers wrote me to know what happened, especially from Nigeria and Malawi. While I had had the pain of talking every now and again about how we had failed, how things had turned out terribly, I feel grateful for every emails and texts I received. Thank you for your care. In 2018 and 2019 we suffered a crisis of personnel and finance, published almost nothing, and suffered great losses which I do not want to name. Therefore it is great relief to bring you good news at last. Not merely to say that we are back, but to say that we are back for good, invigorated and keen on doing what we know how to do the most.

Broken Spirits Anthology

In 2017 we wrote a number of young African writers to send in literary pieces which we planned to weave into a collection of stories (fiction and creative non-fiction). We had given it an interim title of Broken Spirits, and it was strictly based on nomination. We received entries of more than thirty stories from writers across the continent, mostly from Nigeria. Our hope was to publish the collection as hard copies and to create revenue from the book sales to begin a charity project of empowering survivors of gender-based violence in South Africa.

We also had plans in place to announce a winner, with our board members as judges. The winner was to come to South Africa for a ceremony in which the award was to be presented. Regarding publication, we allied with the University of Natal Press, hence it was only expected that we submitted the entries to the organization which would eventually become the publishers of our anthology (since we do not publish books in hard copies). But the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press did not judge most of the entries worthy of publication. After scrutiny, only four stories out of almost twenty final stories were deemed qualified for publication. We couldn’t publish only four stories and call it an anthology. We sat as a team and realized that the Natal Press had valid points, two of which I would list:

1. Too many of the entries were becoming too clichéd. Broken Spirits Anthology was supposed to be hedged around the theme of gender-based violence but the manuscript, after we collated it, became a grey monotony of predictable tragedies. Almost all stories were about rape. All protagonists were getting raped. I am considering the fact that our call for submissions did not provide writers with enough light about the nuance and diversity we wanted. As often happens with anthologies, especially themed anthologies, cliché replaced the theme. Therefore we struggled between sticking to the theme and wanting the voices to be diversified.
2. Our publishers expressed the concern that an anthology about gender-based violence was being led by male voices. In addition, the female voices who were not the majority in the conversation, were also not South African. South African female writers only made up two percent of the entries we received, entries for an anthology that was supposed to be published in South Africa and raise fund for a cause within South Africa. After receiving this feedback we made efforts to reach out to young female South African writers until everything degenerated into a frenzied search: search for South African female writers, search for funding, search for ways of diversifying the voices so that the anthology was not a lamentation about varied forms of rape. While rape is a very real issue, literature is not in the business of expressing righteous anger, we considered. Literature is rather in the business of showing nuance, seeing things in creative ways, not as abstract universals but as singular stories told in ways that a mere newspaper or news magazine would never tell. Therefore it was only natural that we closed the manuscript (which we still have with us) and find better ways of making an anthology that is far removed from cliché and mob verdict. We have learned a great deal from the Natal press and from subsequent conversations we had with our directors and guest editors about each of the entries.

I am very grateful to Bambi Ogram who generously worked with me in editing the entries, Professor Mbongeni Malaba who was in the selections panel, Professor. Sue Racokzy who gave very helpful insights and unalloyed support during those times we had the anthology at the forefront of our concerns. Subsequent information will be sent privately to all writers whose entries we received for the anthology. And it is quite a shame on my part that I did not reach out to them for a very long time. I deeply apologize for this.

Afreecan Read Team

I appreciate all former members of the Afreecan Read team and the previous members of the board of directors. Their membership was purely voluntary and unpaid. And it is with joy that I announce our new team members to our writers and readers around the world, with the hope that AR becomes your ideal place to find all that is good enough to be associated with African literature.

Chibuike Ogbonaya

Chibuike holds a major degree in Literature, and a minor in History from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is an alumnus of the Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Workshop. From September 2020 Chibuike would be curating the Gist Corner where he would be sharing writing tips and updating readers about the latest on African Literature: news from other literary platforms, literary awards, writers, literary events. We welcome Chibuike.

Eugene Yakubu

Eugene writes from Kaduna, Nigeria. He has a graduate degree in English Literature from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. His short stories have been shortlisted for Writivism prize (2019), Gerald Kraak prize (2019), Voices Unveiled: International Short Story competition (2018). He is a book reviewer and editor and an alumni of Chimamanda’s Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Workshop (2019), YELF Creative Writing Workshop (2018). He writes on gender, human rights in northern Nigeria. Eugene will be working with AR team as Submissions Editor, Prose. We welcome Eugene.

Kasimma

Kasimma is based in Abuja. Kasimma is an alumni of Chimamanda Adichie’s Creative Writing Workshop, IWP workshop, and others. She had been a writer-in-residence in artists’ residencies across four countries. She has been published on online journals like The Book Smuggler’s Den and Jellyfish Review. Her collection of short stories is forthcoming by mid-2021 in the United States . Kasimma will be working with AR literary initiative as financial secretary. Warm welcome, dear Kasimma.

Ugochukwu Damian Okpara

Nigerian writer and poet, is the author of the poetry chapbook, I know the Origin of My Tremor (Sundress Publication, 2020). He is an alumnus of the SprinNG Fellowship, and Purple Hibiscus Trust Creative Writing Workshop. His Works appear or are forthcoming in African Writer, The Masters Review, Barren Magazine, The Penn Review, 20:35 Africa: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, and elsewhere. In 2019, Ugochukwu was the 1st Runner Up in the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize. He was a contributing Interviewer for Poetry at Africa in Dialogue. Ugochukwu will be working as Afreecan Read’s Submission Editor for poetry. We welcome Ugochukwu.

Sokuma Theophilus

Theophilus is a writer from Northern Nigeria. He studied psychology at the University of Lagos. His works have appeared in Brittle Paper, Praxis Magazine, African Writers Magazine, Agbowo Art and elsewhere. He is an alumnus of the Purple Hibiscus Writing Workshop. You can find him on twitter tweeting heartbreak lines @oypanio_toeo. Theophilus will be working as Deputy Submissions Editor for Poetry. We welcome you warmly.

Dominic Okoliko

Dominic is currently studying for a doctoral degree in Public and Development Management at the School of Leadership, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Until recently when he took up studentship at Stellenbosch, he was involved with the Human Rights and Conflicts Resolution Centre in Abakaliki, Nigeria. He is a social critic and poet. He is an alumnus of St. Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg. His writings have been published on The Punch Newspaper, Words Rhymes and Rhythm, Poem hunters, Pulse.ng, Nigeria News24 and others. Dominic is enthusiastic about literary capacity developments in Africa and has a keen interest in amplifying unheard voices with a special eye for African Perspectives. Dominic will be working with our literary initiative as Public Relations Officer. Warm welcome, dear Dominic.

Isaac Mafuel

Isaac is a creative entrepreneur, Communications and community engagement specialist. He studied journalism with the University of Malawi and Communication Studies with Mzuzu University. He is the author of The Day The Hyena Came Knocking (A collection of short stories published by the Kipchumba foundation in Kenya). He also coauthored Village Champion: The Story of Banonie Mwale. He runs an advertising, social marketing and public relations agency called Outlier. Isaac is the new Content Supervisor for Afreecan Reads. Warm welcome, Isaac.

Miracle Chinasa Afigbo

She is a journalist for one of the mainstream Nigerian dailies. She found her passion for writing and storytelling in 2018 while navigating the sphere of life. She is an alumnus of the Purple Hibiscus Trust Creative Writing Workshop by Chimamanda Adichie. Her works have appeared and are forthcoming on My Tutor Africa, African Writer and Kreative Diadem. She will be working as Deputy Submissions Editor, Prose. We welcome you, Chinasa.

Mberikwazvo Ian Chitambo

Ian was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy with St. Joseph’s Theological Institute in South Africa. He is presently doing his Bachelor of Theology Degree with St. Joseph’s in his third year. He won a Scholarship in 2017 with The Center of Humanities Research to pursue an Honors degree in philosophy. In 2019 he also won an Essay competition for World Council of Churches. In his spare time, Ian enjoys writing short stories. He is very keen on African literature and engages with African literature from the perspective of philosophy. Ian will be working with AR as community animator and Public Reader.

Ifeanyi Paulinus Ekpunobi

Ifeanyi Ekpunobi is a co-editor (fiction) at Praxis Magazine online. An Alumnus of Purple Hibiscus Trust Creative Writing Workshop, his work has been published or forthcoming in African Writers, Praxis Magazine, Lolwe, Typehouse and elsewhere. He is currently furthering his studies in Ibadan, Nigeria. Ifeanyi will be working as Reader and community animator in Nigeria. Warm welcome you, dear Ifeanyi.

Ben Ochube Benjamin

Ben is fondly called Visuals by Ben because of his profession of photography. He is from Benue state Nigeria but lives and works in Lagos where he creates and edits videos for public events and simultaneously studies Electrical Engineering at the Lagos State Polytechnic. Ben is the director of Vulnerable God, A documentary written by Anthony Dim. He has also directed countless other documentaries and short videos. Ben will be working as Digital Editor for AR team. We are privileged to have you, warm welcome.

Bura-Bari Nwilo

Bura-Bari is postgraduate student of African Literature at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is an alumnus of the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Creative Writing Workshop and his book of fiction, The Colour of a Thing Believed got the second prize at the 2019 Association of Nigerian Authors/ Abubakar Gimba Prize for short stories.

His fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Review, Kalahari Review, Saraba literary magazine, Sentinel Nigeria, Ake Review, The Question Marker, Brittle Paper, Bookslive.co.za, GuerillaBasement, Muwado, Guardian Nigeria, 234Next, Muse Journal of the Department of English and Literary Studies University of Nigeria. He is on the Badilisha Poetry X-Change programme. Like Eyes Liquid with Hope. his short story, was long-listed for the annual Writivism literary festival in Kampala, Uganda, and included in an anthology. Bura-Bari will be working as submissions editor for Book Reviews. He will also be working as a Reader and Communication Animator. Welcome, Bura-Bari.

Godswill Gwanzwang Elisha

Godswill Gwanzwang Elisha is a counsel in the law office of A M Sanusi & Co., Jalingo. He is a columnist and an executive member at Punocracy. He is passionate about African Literature and sees it as a veritable tool for the social engineering of the continent. Elisha will be working as Legal Adviser and Deputy Financial Secretary. We warmly welcome Elisha.

A call for submissions will soon be announced for our first issue to be published in the month of September.

Anthony Dim

Afreecan Read’s Editor-at-Large