Following the Fiction and Non-Fiction Editing Workshop, which held in Lagos in September 2019, the Board of Trustees and Management of the Society of Books and Magazine Editors of Nigeria (SBMEN) announce the fourth and last editing workshop of the year, 2019. The workshop is themed “Literary Criticism: Judging Dynamic Creative Writing in All Forms”, and will be delivered through lectures, interactive sessions, class exercises, case studies and breakout sessions. It is scheduled to hold on the 23rd of November, 2019.

Who should Participate:

• Editors who evaluate the slush pile.
• Content developers.
• Established and aspiring book reviewers.
• Writers who desire to take a critical approach to improve in their craft.

What will You Gain from Participating:

• Learn the basics of literary criticism.
• Understand the techniques of analytic reading.
• Learn how to write great reviews.
• Get resources on freelance opportunities available for you as a reviewer.
• Participate in writing and reading exercises.

Facilitators:

• The award-winning culture critic, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo.
• The founding editor of BMS Editorial Services, Adebukola Bassey.
• The ED/co-founder, SBMEN, Anwuli Ojogwu.
• The writer, journalist and literary critic, Adewale Maja-Pearce.

How to Apply:

• Interested editors and writers should send an email to training@sbmen.org.ng or send a WhatsApp message to 08120055823, requesting more information on how to enroll for the training.

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The Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest2019) is here.

Now in its fifth year, the festival, which was founded in 2015 by Efe Paul Azino, promises to be “a wild beautiful thing.”

The festival begins October 30th, 2019 and ends November 3rd, 2019, and it features over fifty writers and poets and thinkers from over ten countries. According to their site, these individuals are drawn “from an assortment of dreamers, who by insisting that dreams be central to our lives, inspire a generation to rise up to the challenges of its time.” Among them are: Tolu Agbelusi, Wana Udobang, Upile Chisala, the alternative singer and songwriter Brymo, Bassey Ipki, 2019 winner of the Booker Prize Bernadine Evaristo, Logan February, the linguist Kola Tubosun, Kaveh Akbar, deputy-editor at Brittle Paper Otosirieze Obi-Young, and more.

This year’s edition of the festival includes readings and performances and conversations and workshops to be taught by amazing poets and writers.

The workshops:

• “FUSING POETRY AND FICTION—A WORKSHOP WITH BERNADINE EVARISTO”. Date: Thursday, 31st October, 2019. Time: 11am to 1pm. Venue: British Council, 20 Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos. Registration: N5000.
• Poetry masterclass with Kaveh Akbar. Date: Thursday, 31st October, 2019. Venue: British Council, 20 Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos. Registration: N5000.
• Poetry workshop with Itiola Jones, winner of the 2018 Brittle Paper Award in Poetry and a guest-editor of the Young African Poets Anthology.  Date: Wednesday, 30th October, 2019. Venue: Freedom Park, Old Prison Ground, Broad Street, Lagos Island, Lagos. Time: 11am to 1pm. Registration: N3000.
• “IN A LIFE OF WANT: A WORKSHOP ON THE POETICS OF DESIRE WITH LOGAN FEBRUARY”. Thursday, 31st October, 2019. Venue: Freedom Park, Old Prison Ground, Broad Street, Lagos Island, Lagos. Time: 2pm to 4pm. Registration: N3000.

Exchanges are also part of the festival this year. This will be the first in “a series of exchange programmes with Poetry Africa in Durban and Poetry International, a bi-annual festival hosted by the Southbank Centre.” The LIPFest Team will be sending poets from Lagos to Durban and London for these festivals and will be hosting poets from both cities as well.

We look forward to the festival with joy, and we hope you do too.

The post The Lagos Poetry Festival 2019, 5th Edition appeared first on Creative Writing News.

The Society of Book and Magazine Editors of Nigeria (SBMEN) will be holding another career-changing editing workshop in September, 2019. This upcoming workshop will be its third for the year.

This edition has been themed: The Fundamentals of Fiction and Non-Fiction Editing.

If you have always dreamed of becoming a professional editor, here’s your chance to learn from the best editors in the industry. This course is also fantastic for creative writers who are interested in learning to edit their own work. So if you’re tired of the rejections and the bad reviews, perhaps, you should consider taking this course. It might be all you need to get your break through. Again, at the end of the course, you might find that you like the idea of making money as an editor.

According to the press release:

This workshop is valuable to established editors who desire to refresh their knowledge; budding editors eager to hone their craft; proofreaders who want to transit to developmental editing; writers looking to learn how to expertly self-edit their work and people who love literature and want to learn a new skill-set.

What areas will this course cover?

This editing workshop/ training seminar will cover a wide range of topics such as:

• The process of creative writing,
• The best practices for editing creative fiction and creative nonfiction;
• The art of managing author-editor relationships
• How to give constructive feedback;
• How to find and pursue business prospects and opportunities
• Practical experience of a professional editor.

The course has been scheduled to hold from 21 to 22 September 2019.

At this point, you’re probably wondering who the facilitators are.

This workshop will be facilitated by the following editorial experts:

• Adebukola Bassey, Founding Editor, BMS Editorial Services;
• Otosirieze Obi-Young, Deputy Editor, Brittle Paper;
• Tahirah Sagaya, Senior Editor, Quramo Publishing;
• Eghosa Imasuen,  Co-founder, Narrative Landscape Press,
• and Anwuli Ojogwu, ED/co-founder, SBMEN.
• The guest expert is  Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, the author of The Son of the House (2019), which has recently been received with wide acclaim by international critics.

The workshop will be delivered through lectures, interactive sessions, class exercises, case studies, and breakout sessions.

Editors and writers from all over the world are encouraged to apply. There are no geographical restrictions.

So, are you ready to learn The Fundamentals of Fiction and Non-Fiction Editing? Here are the application guidelines.

• Send an e-mail to: training@sbmen.org.ng
• Alternatively, you can send a WhatsApp message to 08120055823.
• To learn more about SBMEN, visit  www.sbmen.org.ng

About SBMEN

The Society for Book and Magazine Editors of Nigeria (SBMEN) is a new educational and professional association that represents and supports aspiring and existing editorial professionals to develop editorial skills that meet global best practices. It is also extended to other professionals who work within publications, broadcasting, digital media, legal services, communications, public relations and academia. The organisation provides training and resources for professionals to increase their proficiency in editing.

You might also like: Attend Best-selling Author Mary Karr’s Memoir Class on Skillshare / How To Get A Free Code To Attend

How To Write A Great Short-Story: Lessons From A Short-Story Day With TJ Benson.

The post Register For The Upcoming SBMEN Fiction and Non-Fiction Editing Workshop for Editors and Writers Billed To Hold This September appeared first on Creative Writing News.

Mary Karr, the best-selling author who literally wrote the book on memoir (The Art of Memoir, Lit, The Liar’s Club) is teaching an exclusive, new class on memoir on the online learning platform Skillshare, launching Monday, Sept. 2.

The class, called Writing the Truth: How to Start Writing Your Memoir, joins Skillshare’s premium membership catalog—online classes that take you behind-the-scenes with today’s leading creatives. Over the past 12 months, Skillshare has launched classes with best-selling authors Roxane Gay, Lisa Ko, Hanif Abdurraqib, and more.

Mary’s new class is a must-watch for any writer who wants to do memoir. In every lesson, Mary breaks down excerpts from her own memoirs and those of her favorite writers word-by-word. You’ll dive deep into Mary’s approach to writing, including an exclusive look at the notebooks she’s currently using to plan her next memoir, the commonplace book she uses to keep track of writing she loves, and bookshelves stacked with her favorite memoirs from years of avid reading.

Mary shares with her students that their first priority in writing memoir should be to ensure they have enough distance from what they are writing before starting their story. “Writing is not therapy,” Karr says.”In writing, you are the mommy and the reader is the baby – and so you’ve got to be giving them something. It’s not about you and how you feel and self expression – that’s a diary” Before writing a memoir, writers must “Take care of themselves.”

Click to attend Mary Karr’s Creative Non-fiction Writing Course.

You need to pay a subscription fee to attend the course. But if you can’t afford the fee, that’s okay. ‘ll be giving out free codes to over one hundred readers. You know, a little something to reward you for reading Creative Writing News.

How to get a free code to attend Mary Karr’s Creative Writing Course:

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You might also be interested in : Online Creative Writing Class with NYT Bestselling Author Roxanne Gay Available On Skillshare—Register

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