₦airaland Forum

Christian Ekwunife has certainly added his name to the list of those bent on making a positive impact in the literary world. His latest work “The Indelible Scar of a lost lust“… the last two words are subtly tongue twisting… with certitude, reveals his mastery of the drama (play) sphere… a relegated genre in our country… no small thanks to the prose dominance!.

The play published by Author House on July 27, 2012 with 92 pages is a tragedy caused as a result of man’s inordinate or excessive desire for wealth or materialism. Christian published his first play titled “Gateway to Destruction” in 1995 and many of his articles have been published in professional academic journals. Let’s have a peek into the life of this young man who is taking the world by storm via his ingenuity laden writings…shall we?

CHRISTIAN CHUKWUDOZIE EKWUNIFE a native of Anambra state in Nigeria, was born on September 7th, 1974. He obtained both the Bachelor of Arts [B.A.] and Master of Arts [M.A.] degrees in Theatre Arts from the renowned University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1999 and 2003 respectively. He has conducted research extensively on Theatre Criticism and Contemporary Theatre Practice. The Playwright, professional actor, dancer and accomplished Theatre Critic has published academic papers including but not limited to;

“Go Tell It To The Old Prophets, Criticism Not Mudslinging : Alex Asigbo’s War of The Tin Gods”, in :Theatre Experience: A Journal of Contemporary Practice, Theatre Arts Department, UNIZIK, Awka. Vol.2 2003.

“From Passing Hats to the Stock Exchange : Positive Thoughts on Theatre as Business in Nigeria”, in: The Performer: Ilorin Journal of Performing ArtsVol.8 [JOINT].

“Feminisn in Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan’s Tegonni, An African Antigone as a Paradigm”, in: The Creative Artist: A Journal of Theatre and Media Studies Vol. 1 NO.1 Oct. 2006... read more on http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/10/09/christian-ekwunife-unveils-an-emotionally-gripping-play-the-indelible-scar-of-a-lost-lust/

Award winning novelist Nnedi Okorafor has released AFRICAN SUNRISE (a novella), published by Subterranean Magazine. Illustrations were made by Eric Battle. The novella can be termed as a sequel to her earlier work “The Book of Phoenix” which was published by Clarkesworld Magazine)

The novella unveils a woman, grown in Tower 7 with a variety of other genetic experiments. She is ‘an accelerated woman’ with unusual abilities who experiences a rude awakening and finally begins to yearn for freedom. However, the price for freedom comes with a heavy, highly destructive price... read more on http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/10/04/award-winning-novelist-nnedi-okoroafor-releases-african-sunrise/

As usual we couldn’t help but bring you this remarkable story of Muhtar Bakare, the man who dared to quit his job as a banker to face his passion… Publishing Books. We came across a story Kate kellaway of The Observer wrote about him… and we believe this will inspire you into following your dreams passionately until it becomes a reality…enjoy!

“Muhtar Bakare believes in the quietest of revolutions. He thinks what we read can change us. He has lived and worked in Nigeria all his life and passionately believes everyone has the right to tell their own story.

His own is remarkable. He gave up his position as a bank executive to start an independent publishing house because no one was publishing fiction. Did people shake their heads over the brave folly of his enterprise? “Definitely! But setting up a publishing company was always going to be a challenge. And it still is: we have no distribution network and there is blatant piracy – infringement of intellectual property. People have to struggle against this, which can inhibit the power to be productive.”

But nothing seems to inhibit Bakare. He cites his voracious reading as a spur – he studied architecture at university and was fascinated by politics and economics. This showed him the world was “ruled by ideas and I was concerned Nigerians were not contributing enough to their production”. He became a banker because finance was “part of the way the world was structured” and he understood its influence. But he maintains that, even as he joined, he knew he would one day leave to become a publisher.

His wife still works in banking. They have two children. Did hisshe approve his career move? “I am lucky – she is my soulmate. Her passion is for finance and she loves what she does. But she understands my need to follow my passion.”

Bakare is no impractical idealist. Bakare has a capitalist vision: “Africa must participate in a global marketplace not as aid recipients but as producers on equal terms.” It dismays him that “so many brilliant Africans are involved in aid rather than international trade”.

In 2004, he started Farafina (a Bambara word that translates as “Africa”) a highly regarded online magazine from which his company would grow. (Nowadays, he is managing director of Pearson Nigeria and he no longer runs Farafina, but is still a shareholder and director.) He made contact with writers including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ... read more on
http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/09/19/muhtar-bakare-the-face-behind-farafina-books-in-nigeria/

It is no longer news that Orange pulled out of the sponsorship deal of one of the prestigious literary prizes in the world. We came across a piece written by Matt Brian on thenextweb.com with regards to the likely successor … APPLE!. Enjoy his write up below:

“Featured in a large percentage of Hollywood films and TV shows without any help from their creators, Apple’s products don’t need a lot of assistance when it comes to marketing. The company rarely ties itself to events, awards or media advertising but Apple could soon make a small exception, with a commitment to backing a UK book prize.

The Telegraph reports that Apple has been in talks to support the Orange Prize for Fiction, an award that celebrates women’s writing from throughout the world, replacing the UK mobile operator after 17 years of sponsorship.

Orange’s parent company Everything Everywhere announced that it would relinquish sponsorship of the Prize in May, prompting suggestions that another fruit company would step in to fill the void. As The Telegraph points out, this may become a reality with discussions between Apple and the award’s organisers entering “advanced stages.”

However, it may face competition from device maker Kobo, which offers a range of popular eBook readers similar to Amazon’s Kindle.

Apple has lent its name to the iTunes Festival events in the UK, but the company has typically refrained from backing awards and events in the past.

Apple, of course, controls a large percentage of worldwide music and video sales via its iTunes store, and has entered the eBook market with the launch of the iBookStore. It isn’t known whether Apple intends to lend its name to the Prize for Fiction, or use it for marketing purposes and display nominated books prominently in its eBook store.

Apple also finds itself (as well as two major publishers) at the centre of a lawsuit over ... read more on

http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/08/20/apple-to-replace-the-orange-prize-for-women-writers/

Yep it’s official… come 2014, all roads will lead to Port Harcourt, Rivers state for the 2014 World Book Capital City event. Following the bid put in by the Rainbow Book Club and the Rivers state government, UNESCO declared the within named mentioned had won the bid, surpassing the cities such as Oxford and Lyon.

Tenacity, passion, goal setting... read more on http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/07/18/port-harcourt-wins-bid-for-the-2014-world-book-capital-city/

The Lumina Foundation days ago issued a press release with regards to those who made the long list for the prestigious literary prize. According to the organizers who entered into a partnership deal with Globacom :
- The Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa was established in 2005 by The Lumina Foundation, as a Biennial Award to the best literary work produced by an African.

• It assesses works by African authors selected within the two years preceding the award year.

• It is intended to serve as an African equivalent of the Nobel Prize, particularly in recognizing and encouraging professional and personal excellence.

• At the moment, the Prize money of WS Prize is $20,000USD We are looking to increasing it in the near future.

• The omnibus nature of the Prize (Due to the fact that Prof WS writes in all the genres) has also been addressed. Each year, starting from 2014, the Prize will rotate through the following genres, in this order: Published Prose (Full length novels or collection of short stories by a single author), Drama, Poetry and finally collection of Essays (which may bother on political and human rights issues. Also memoirs may be accepted in this category)

The Award is given every two years and the last edition was jointly won by Kopano Matlwa (Coconut) and Wale Okedira (Tenants of the House).

This is the complete long list:

The Beauty I Have Seen — Tanure Ojaide

Bitter Chocolate — Toyin Adewale Gabriel

That Other Country — Hyginus Eku]wuazi

The Book of the Dead — Kgebetli Moele

The Unseen Leopard — Bridget Pitt

On Black Sister’s Street — Chika Unigwe

The African American — Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije

Roses and Bullets — Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo... read more on http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/07/12/long-list-for-wole-soyinkas-prize-for-literature-in-africa-winner-gets-20000/

The monthly reading of Book ‘n’ Gauge for this month unveils Eghosa Imasuen, author of the novel “Fine Boys” published by Farafina Books. The medical doctor who resides in Warri , Delta state, will be at the Debonair book store, sabo, Yaba(venue of the reading) to of course thrill us with readings from his work.

The novel “Fine Boys” had first come under the e-publishing format before being turned into the usual print mode. His debut novel “To Saint Patrick” was also published by Farafina while his short stories were published on... read more on
http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/06/22/book-n-gauge-to-host-book-reading-of-fine-boys-by-eghosa-imaseun/

Cassava Republic has declared the availability of Christie Watson’s novel “Tiny Sunbirds”. Christie won the Costa Award for New Novel,and according to Cassava Republic, it’s “a beautifully-written coming of age story set in the Niger Delta, about what it means to be human in a world of greed and corruption”.

Helon Habila, winner of the Commonwealth Prize, author of Oil on Water, Waiting for an Angel and Measuring Time says this about the book:

“Christie Watson’s debut novel, set in the troubled Niger Delta, does what fiction does best, it captures place and characters so well that you feel you are also there. It is sincere, it is powerfully written, and it deserves to be read”

A father walks out on his family, which causes his daughter and son (Blessing and Ezekiel), to relocate to the rural side outside Warri, from the bustling Lagos life. Life in the country side is hard, no electricity, pipe borne water, or school. Grandfather Alhaji, is an ardent believer in the healing properties of Marmite, while Grandma has a profession kept under wraps… but there’s Alhaji’s new wife, Celestine... read more on http://9aijabooksandmovies./2012/06/20/tiny-sunbirds-by-christie-watson-winner-costa-award-for-new-novel/