ANA Calls...

The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has announced that it is accepting entries for its 2011 annual literary prizes. A release from the body said both home-based Nigerian writers and those in the Diaspora interested in entering their new works should start sending same for verification now.

Interested participants are to submit six copies of their entries with a cover letter specifying the category being entered for. The entries should reach the ANA secretariat on or before Thursday, March 31.

The entries should not have been entered before and must be works published between 2010 and 2011.The association said that it would not be responsible for entries sent by post nor will it claim registered parcels in cases where it has to pay for such claims. More info here

The Special Art of Short Story Writing

Are you in Lagos? Do you write or are you an aspiring writer? Then, you need to read this.

The Centre of Excellence Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Lagos is squaring up to meeting a major need on "The Special Art of Short Story writing". The guest writer and special resource person for the worksop is the Guyana-Caribbean Nigerian wife, Prof. Karen King Aribisala, a creative prose writer of international craft.

Karen's The Hangman's Game won the Commonwealth 2008 prize as the First Best Book in prose fiction in the African category. Her first book, Our Wife and other stories is a most experimental collection of short stories with each story not exceeding two-three pages yet lucid and loaded in symbolism. In it, she does not only serve the taste of "Bitter Leaf" associated with cross-cultural marriages, she also shows the pleasures and pamperings therein. A Professor of African and Caribean literature and feminism with a fine creative bent, Karen will be workshoping writers into her findings on the special art of Short story Writing.

Date: Saturday August 29, 2009 Time: 2pm-5pm

Venue: Aina Onabolu Complex, National Theatre, Costain-Iganmu, Lagos.Karen King

Prof. Karen King Aribsala would also be reading from her book and doing the the infrequent, do an oral performance of her stories like the African griot.

Writers are expected to come read their short stories only. No poetry reading will be allowed. It is short story day.