₦airaland Forum

Thank you Orikinla for the advice. I will contact all chapters of ANA. In addition, I will contact Sola Osofisan.
I hope too that a mature, decent and intellectual discussion website will emerge shortly whereby Nigerian writers can exchange ideas and build a friendly community.

Yes, send your poems (5 maximum), short stories, creative non-fiction and essays. None of the anthology submissions will be published online. Accepted work will appear in the anthology only.

The best way to protect your work is to copyright it before sending it out to editors. In 1970, I sent my poems out to the editor of Nigerian Post and all the poems were published—and it was the first time I ever wrote anything and got paid for it. I was paid five pounds for each poem. I did not think the editor was going to steal my idea or work, and no one did. As a student at the University of Ibadan in the early seventies, I submitted poems to the Department of English magazine “Idoto” and my poems were published. This was how I met and became friends with Odia Ofeimun and many other student writers of the seventies. I sent many poems to Femi Osofisan, which he published in his poetry chapbook, “Opon Ifa” During Festac, I sent my poems to Cyprian Ekwensi and he published the poems in “An Anthology of new Nigerian Writing”, which was Nigeria’s literary entry for Festac. I did not think he was going to pilfer my work and he did not. It never crossed my mind that someone would steal my work.

As a staff writer at the Daily Times between 1976 and 1980, I published hundreds of articles on the literary and performing arts in Nigeria and no one stole my articles or reprinted without the Daily Times permission. This Idea of stealing stuff is a new phenomenon in Nigeria because I know for sure that magazines and journals still ask for submissions here in the USA. I understand the concerns of writers about being plagiarized or their works stolen by other people, but the best way to protect yourself is to copyright your work. As an English instructor here at Delta College in Stockton, California I remind my students of the penalty for plagiarism which is failing the course or perhaps getting into serious trouble with the Dean of Instruction. Therefore, there is no need to engage in an unnecessary hair-splitting exercise regarding my anthology. It is a shame that Nigerians have experienced incredible dishonesty in the hands of leaders and trusted managers—which is why everything and everyone is suspect, but you have to move beyond that and keep an open mind.  I would like to publish other writers because I love and teach literature. Thank you SMC for making a clear headed and thoughtful argument. By the way, I am going to put up the US copyright office link on my website so that you can register your work if you so desire.

blissfullynaughty:
@ SMC, Is the publisher or Editor still looking for stories?

Absolutely, yes! Please send your material to jideosik@kilimanjaromedia.com. Better yet, visit our website. Its address is located in my signature.

Thank you very much SMC for this announcement. Indeed, I am editing an anthology of new fiction from Africa. The focus is on unpublished work, but I will include any previously published work if the author owns the copyright. I would prefer that submissions be sent to me via email; however, a query letter should precede the submission. All contributors to this anthology will be paid for their work. No deadline has been set for this publication. In addition to the African anthology, I am also editing an anthology of immigrant writing. This publication is open to immigrants residing in the United States.  Deadline for the immigrant anthology is Friday November 28th, 2008. Please go to http://www.kilimanjaromedia.com for additional information, or send me an email at:
jideosik@kilimanjaromedia.com
Jide Osikomaiya

Exposure is what writers get, at least for now. KilimanjaroMedia is a start-up, and as such, is not currently positioned to cut out checks for budding writers. For those writers interested in having their work published, KilimanjaroMedia's online edition offers a needed outlet and potential for future publishing opportunities and recognition. Certainly, there are both online and hardcopy publications out there offering payment for submissions; we are not there yet. If you're looking to be published and receive exposure, then you'll find it at Kilimanjaro Review. The newsstand edition will be published twice a year and will be distributed to subscribers only. A considerable amount of the content for the hardcopy edition will be pulled from online submissions.

Thank you for bringing up the issue. It helps to shed light on what we're trying to accomplish.

Hello creative writers,
You are invited, once again, to be part of the kilimanjaromedia family. http://www.kilimanjaromedia.com Last month, we began publishing new work on our website. We are particularly interested in unpublished work. In addition to publishing your work online, we are collecting materials for our first hardcopy edition scheduled for the spring of 2008. If you would like to contribute to, or receive our hard copy edition, then you need to subscribe to the publication. Look out for the subscription form coming up on our site shortly. Meanwhile, check us out at http://www.kilimanjaromedia.com. Send us short stories, creative non-fiction, poetry, film-short screenplays, screenplays, cartoons; or, whatever you want to share with others that you believe has a creative bent.
Jide Osikomaiya
Founding Editor

Ira,
I am interested in doing a feature on this author on my website. Please send me a query email. The address to my website is in my signature.

Well, if you can't find a used book vendor in Ilorin, maybe you should look into starting your own used bookstore. You know, there may be hundreds of other people in Ilorin in search of second hand books. Just a thought. Good luck in your search.

Why don't you finish a first draft, find a few trusted folks who can give you honest reviews, then revise your work. Get a book editor and work in private with the fellow. Good luck.

Hello fellow writers. I have only recently read the thread on putting together an anthology by the writers on Nairaland. I believe the thread has expired. However, I'm developing an online project aimed at supporting unpublished African writers, a site called KilimanjaroMedia.com. In addition to KilimanjaroMedia being a literary site, it is also very much an arts site encompassing many other aspects of performing arts. One of the goals of this site is to publish an anthology. If you're interested in what we may have to offer, please stop by.

Here is the link to the website:
KilimanjaroMedia.com

Hello fellow writers. I'm developing an online project aimed at supporting unpublished African writers, a site called KilimanjaroMedia.com. In addition to KilimanjaroMedia being a literary site, it's also very much an arts site encompassing many other aspects of performing arts. One of the goals of this site is to publish an anthology. If you're interested in what we may have to offer, please stop by.

Here is the link to the website.
KilimanjaroMedia.com