GARDEN CITY LITERARY FESTIVAL III

The good work of the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi in ensuring the boost of, as it were, the almost fallen education sector of the state is agreeably commendable. He has rebranded public schools, provided free education for UBE pupils, awarded scholarships for undergraduates to study overseas, to say the least, but most fascinating is the introduction of the annual Garden City Literary Festival.

The Garden City Literary Festival has been successfully run for two years, with its maiden outing in 2008. It is a brainchild of the executive governor of Rivers State, but organised by the Rainbow Book Club. The festival seeks to attract writers and lovers of literature from across the African continent and further afield. It provides a vacuum for the convergence of would-be writers, budding writers and renowned literary gurus.

The maiden outing brought together over a thousand people including some prominent writers like the first African Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ghanaian poet-come-novelist, Prof. Kofi Awoonor and one of Nigeria’s most prolific writers, Dr. Chinua Achebe amongst others. The theme for this outing was “Writers without Bothers”.

The 2009 edition with theme “, ”, brought into the garden city of the oil-rich state, Nigerian author, John Pepper Clark, Kenyan writer and activist, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and exciting young writers like Sefi Attah and Rivers state-born A. Igoni  Barret.

This year’s outing of the festival is going to be the third and promises to be very exciting as once more, Prof. Wole Soyinka as well as Jean-Marie Gustave (France born Nobel Laureate) will be appearing at the event. There would also be a special ceremony to honour 50 great writers from the past 50 years as part of the jubilee celebrations.

Other guest writers in the persons of: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (winner of hilarious 419 novel ‘I Do Not Come To You by Chance’), Helon Habila ( author of the brilliant novel ‘Waiting for An Angel’, which won him the Caine prize in 2001), Zainabu Jallo (poet and playwright, whose play ‘Onions Make Us Cry’ was shortlisted for this year’s NLNG literary prize) would  conduct workshops. They would be coaching aspiring writers as well as taking part in interactive sessions with readers.

Other events in the programme include a book fair and a range of cultural display amongst other forms of entertainment. Interestingly, children are not left out of the event as the final day of the programme holds lots for them, including a special appearance by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Henry Odein Ajumogobia.

Governor Amaechi recently had an audience with members of the press to discuss the upcoming festival which would be held at the Hotel Presidential and University of Port Harcourt. He fielded questions about his passion for rreading and the emphasis his administration has placed on education.

Speaking on the importance of the festival, he said it would help in: changing the public perception of Port Harcourt, addressing security issues in the state and ensuring that the city receives worldwide recognition for its contribution to literature and the arts.

for more info, visit www.gardencityfestival.com