Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Want to know more about the book? You can read an excerpt HERE. You can also read the inspiring tweet chat on  #SweetCrudeOdyssey.

You can follow me on twitter @chiomaiwunze

The author can be followed via @lcamaeshi

The post Book Tour Announcement: Sweet Crude Odyssey By Lawrence Amaeshi appeared first on Creative Writing News.

We are excited about this year’s Caine’s shortlist. Want to know why? Read below:

Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) for ‘Who Will Greet You At Home’ published in The New Yorker (USA. 2015). Lesley Nneka Arimah is the author of What It Means When A Man Falls from the Sky, a collection of stories published by Riverhead Books (US) and Tinder Press (UK), 2017. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Per Contra and other publications. Lesley was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2016 and was a participant in the Caine Prize 2017 workshop in Tanzania.

READ LESLEY’S STORY

Photo Credit: Emily Baxter

Chikodili Emelumadu (Nigeria) for ‘Bush Baby’ published in African Monsters, edited by Margaret Helgadottir and Jo Thomas (Fox Spirit Books, USA. 2015). Chikodili’s work has appeared in One Throne, Omenana, Apex, Eclectica, Luna Station Quarterly and the interactive fiction magazine, Sub-Q. In 2014, Chikodili was nominated for a Shirley Jackson award. Chikodili is working on her novel.

READ CHIKODILI’S STORY

Bushra al-Fadil (Sudan) for ‘The Story of the Girl whose Birds Flew Away’ translated by Max Shmookler with support fromNajlaa Osman Eltom, published in The Book of Khartoum – A City in Short Fiction edited by Raph Cormack & Max Shmookler (Comma Press, UK. 2016). Bushra has published four collections of short stories in Arabic. His most recent collection Above a City’s Sky was published in 2012, the same year Bushra won the Altayeb Salih Short Story Award. Bushra holds a PhD in Russian language and literature.

Arinze Ifeakandu (Nigeria) for ‘God’s Children Are Little Broken Things’ published in A Public Space 24 (A Public Space Literary Projects, Inc., USA. 2016). Arinze was the editor of The Muse (No. 24) at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he studied English and literature, graduating in 2016. In 2013, Arinze attended the Farafina Trust Creative Writing workshop and was shortlisted for the BN Poetry Prize in 2015. Arinze was a 2015 Emerging Writer fellow of A Public Space magazine, where his short story was published.

READ ARINZE’S STORY

 Magogodi oaMphela Makhene (South Africa) for ‘The Virus’ published in The Harvard Review 49 (Houghton Library Harvard University, USA. 2016). Magogodi’s work has appeared in Ploughshares and Elie Wiesel’s An Ethical Compass, and has been recognised by the NYU Reynolds Program for Social Entrepreneurship, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and the Truman Capote Fellowship at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she earned her MFA. Magogodi is a recipient of the David Relin Prize for Fiction and is currently working on a collection of interwoven stories exploring the inner lives and loves of ordinary South Africans. She is a proudly Soweto-made soul.

The post Caine Prize 2017: The Shortlist appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Etisalat Prize for Literature celebrates new African writers whose first fiction book (over 30,000 words) was published in the last twenty four (24) months. For the purposes of this definition, first book means first printed production in book form of any type or genre.

Authors and their publishers can be based anywhere in the world. The winner of the Etisalat Prize for Literature receives £15,000, and a high end device. In line with Etisalat’s vision of promoting upcoming writers, Etisalat will sponsor a book tour to three African cities. The winning writer will also embark on the Etisalat Fellowship at the University of East Anglia mentored by Professor Giles Foden (author of The Last King of Scotland) which will include significant opportunities to meet other writers, publishers and most importantly work on their second book. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is unique in that it also aims to promote the publishing industry at large and will therefore purchase 1000 copies of all shortlisted books which will be donated to various schools, book clubs and libraries across the African continent.

The post The Etisalat Prize For Literature Is Here appeared first on Creative Writing News.

You are invited to the online book tour and book reading of Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu’s novel, The Domestication of Munachi. Ten literary blogs will host her on five different days. The tour promises to be rewarding. There will be varied readings across all stops and free giveaways. You might win a book. Invite a friend. Order a copy. Join in the discussion. Participate. Here are the details.

Tour Hosts and Stop Dates for The Domestication Of Munachi by Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu

Creative Writing News — 4th April, 2016.
Creativewritingnews.net
Lola Opatayo — Pages and Paragraphs — 4th April, 2016
Lolaopatayo.com

Brittlepaper—5th April, 2016
Brittlepaper.com
The Magunga—5th April, 2016
Magunga.com

BooksLiveSA — 6th April, 2016
Bookslive.co.za
Praxis Magazine For Arts and Literature — 6th April, 2016
Praxismagonline.com

KinnaReads—7th April, 2016
Kinnareads.com
Open Book Nigeria — 7th April, 2016
Openbooknigeria.com

Bookshy—8th April, 2016
bookshybooks.blogspot.com.ng
AFREADA—8th April, 2016
Afreada.com

Title: The Domestication Of Munachi

Writer: Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu

Genre:Contemporary African Literature,  Literary Fiction.

Publisher / Year: Parresia Books / 2016

Paperback: 181 pages

Book Description:

On a hot Sunday afternoon years ago…

…Two sisters walk in on their father’s sexual liaison with the family’s hired help which leaves them both scarred in different ways.

Years later…

Unable to bear the thought of marriage to a man she barely knows, the younger and more adventurous one, Munachi, runs away from home on the eve of her traditional marriage, unwittingly resurrecting a long buried feud between her religious mother and eccentric aunty. This conflict leaves a door open for the family’s destruction.

The Domestication of Munachi (DOM) is a novel about the unnecessary pressure on women to take on life partners, regardless of who these partners are and the psychological impacts seen through the stories of two sets of sisters—Munachi and Nkechi versus Chimuanya and Elizabeth.

About The Author:

Aside wishing she could travel more often and she could stop answering questions nobody ever asks, Ifesinachi is a creative mom with the superhuman abilities to get bored when she’s working on a single project at a time. The Domestication of Munachi is her first novel.

In her regular life, Ifesinachi .O. Okpagu is a Lagos based marketing communications executive with over seven years’ experience, including being an Associate Producer of a pan-African TV show and heading the marketing communications team of an insurance company. She also serves as the chief custodian of the Lexiton brand with intellectual property in the media and entertainment industry. Her first book, a novella, was published when she was fourteen and was adopted as a secondary school recommended text in Delta and Ebonyi states.

She was educated at Queens College, Lagos, and at the University of Benin where she obtained a BA in Fine and Applied Arts. Ifesinachi also holds a Masters degree from the Pan-African University where she graduated top of her class. She has written several stories, some of which have been published in Sentinel Nigeria, the African Roar Anthology and Saraba Magazine.

She has written/produced several screenplays for the big screen and for television.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The post Book Tour Announcement: The Domestication Of Munachi by Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu appeared first on Creative Writing News.

There will be an online book tour and book reading of Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu’s amazing novel, The Domestication of Munachi. Ten literary blogs will host her on five different days.

I am excited about this tour. Ifesinachi’s book kept me up at night , and I can’t wait to discuss the book with you all. You can buy the book HERE.

The tour promises to be rewarding. There will be varied readings across all stops and free giveaways. You might win a book at the Rafflecopter giveaway. Invite a friend. Order a copy. Join in the discussion. Participate. Here are the details.

Tour Hosts and Stop Dates for The Domestication Of Munachi by Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu

to be announced soon.

Title: The Domestication Of Munachi

Writer: Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu

Genre:Contemporary African Literature,  Literary Fiction.

Publisher / Year: Parresia Books / 2016

Paperback: 181 pages

Book Description:

On a hot Sunday afternoon years ago…

…Two sisters walk in on their father’s sexual liaison with the family’s hired help which leaves them both scarred in different ways.

Years later…

Unable to bear the thought of marriage to a man she barely knows, the younger and more adventurous one, Munachi, runs away from home on the eve of her traditional marriage, unwittingly resurrecting a long buried feud between her religious mother and eccentric aunty. This conflict leaves a door open for the family’s destruction.

The Domestication of Munachi (DOM) is a novel about the unnecessary pressure on women to take on life partners, regardless of who these partners are and the psychological impacts seen through the stories of two sets of sisters—Munachi and Nkechi versus Chimuanya and Elizabeth.

About The Author:

Aside wishing she could travel more often and she could stop answering questions nobody ever asks, Ifesinachi is a creative mom with the superhuman abilities to get bored when she’s working on a single project at a time. The Domestication of Munachi is her first novel.

In her regular life, Ifesinachi .O. Okpagu is a Lagos based marketing communications executive with over seven years’ experience, including being an Associate Producer of a pan-African TV show and heading the marketing communications team of an insurance company. She also serves as the chief custodian of the Lexiton brand with intellectual property in the media and entertainment industry. Her first book, a novella, was published when she was fourteen and was adopted as a secondary school recommended text in Delta and Ebonyi states.

She was educated at Queens College, Lagos, and at the University of Benin where she obtained a BA in Fine and Applied Arts. Ifesinachi also holds a Masters degree from the Pan-African University where she graduated top of her class. She has written several stories, some of which have been published in Sentinel Nigeria, the African Roar Anthology and Saraba Magazine.

She has written/produced several screenplays for the big screen and for television.

The post Coming Soon: Online Book Tour Of The Domestication Of Munachi by Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu appeared first on Creative Writing News.

At long last, the tour has begun. And I am excited to share readings and excerpts from  the conspiracy crime thriller, Satans & Shaitans and and a short interview with you. Welcome to a book tour by AMAB Author, Obinna Udenwe.  During this online book tour, the author will stop by seven literary websites, from March 7 through March 14th, 2016. You can read the tour schedule HERE.

Again, welcome to the tour. We’ll start with a book reading.

Listen to Obinna Udenwe read the prologue of Satans and Shaitans

Click the Play button to listen

Click to Download the transcript: Prologue – Satans & Shaitans

Obinna Udenwe gave a brief interview. I hope you enjoy reading.

CWN: Congratulations on winning the ANA Prose Prize 2015. How did it feel to win?

Obinna Udenwe: It felt great. I was excited because Satans and Shaitans is a queer book – it is different from the books you have out there in Nigeria – the very conventional Nigerian book. And you also have to put into consideration the fact that it belongs to an orphaned genre, the crime fiction. So there was the fear that this book, though well loved by the readers, might not be well received by judges in a literary contest, as we find mostly in Nigeria that most of the judges are academics and most of them who are academics do not take to genre fiction.

CWN: What did you enjoy most about writing this novel?

Obinna Udenwe: The research part. It took me seven years to work on the book – long years of research on various things – the issues of terrorism and insurgency and how jihad is related to terrorism. I had to study what jihad is, if jihad and terrorism is same thing and if one who is a terrorist can argue strongly that he is a jihadist and if he can, does Islam approve of his struggle as jihad. I had to read the holy Quran to understand Islam better. I had to dissect the holy book to find the surahs that talk about jihad and war. I had to read the Hadith. You see, the two books are the strongest Islamic reference points – you cannot say that you understand the religion of Islam well if you haven’t read the Quran and the Hadith.

I had to research on the Catholic part, but that was easy because I am Catholic and was an Altar Boy for close to ten years. I had to research on the making of Improvised Explosive Devices, and also on the northern part of Nigeria to find a suitable place to situate Kafurzan, the fictional town where the Centre for Islamic Knowledge is in the book. So the most exciting part of writing the book was the research.

Another reading by Obinna Udenwe, author of the Satans and Shaitans, Satans and Shaitans Page 108.

Click the Play button to listen

Do you have questions for Obinna Udenwe? Leave your questions in the comments section. Don’t forget to write your name at the end of the comment. There will be a draw at the end of all the tours. And free books will be given to tour participants. Want to increase your chances of winning an autographed copy? Don’t just ask questions.  Place an order via the buy links. Mention @Amabbooks on twitter or send an email to amabbooks@gmail.com. Book orders automatically give you three spots in the Rafflecopter draw.

I hope you had a great time. Don’t forget to share and attend the other tours on all six other websites. There will be more readings and more fun.

About The Author

Obinna Udenwe is the author of the conspiracy crime thriller, Satans & Shaitans, published in Nigeria by AMAB books and in the UK in 2014 by Jacaranda Books.

Satans & Shaitans was a joint winner of the ANA Prose Prize in 2015. His novel addresses very topical issues of terrorism, jihad and politics. He is one of the few African writers fearless enough to delve into controversial issues – in 2015 he eroticised the Nigerian church in fiction in a series titled Holy Sex, published to wide readership and criticism.

In 2015 he established the ‘Crossover Mexico-Nigeria’ writing project. His works have appeared in Fiction365, Ehanom Review, Brittle Paper, Tribe, Kalahari Review, Alariwo, African Writer, Outside In Magazine etc., and anthologised in African Roar, Dreams at Dawn, ANA Review, and the Short Story is Dead Long Live the Short Story. In 2014 he was honoured with the award of the ‘State Literary Icon’ by the Government of Ebonyi State. Obinna Udenwe is a farmer and a democracy enthusiast.

Obinna Udenwe will be stopping at two websites tomorrow.

Praxis Magazine For Arts and Literature — 8^th March, 2016

Praxismagonline.com

Say My Name — 8^th March, 2016

Iquoeke.blogspot.com

Don’t forget to enjoy the varied readings and excerpts and interviews they will feature.

The post Welcome to the Book Tour of Satans and Shaitans appeared first on Creative Writing News.