We are pleased to announce the mentors for the 2018 Wawa Book Review Young Literary Critics Fellowship.
The mentors are world-renowned critics who are at home in the ever evolving African literary tradition, and they are dedicated teachers of writing.
The mentors are:
Adewale Maja-Pearce was born in London, England, in 1953 and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He was previously Africa editor of Index on Censorship magazine, and editor of the (now defunct) Heinemann African Writers Series. He currently lives in Lagos, where he runs The New Gong – www.thenewgong.com – a small publishing company. He has written for a number of newspapers and magazines, including Granta, the New York Times and the London Review of Books. He holds a BA from the University College of Swansea, Wales, and an MA from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies. He has published a number of books, including In My Father’s Country: A Nigerian Journey (1987), Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa and Other Essays (2005), A Peculiar Tragedy: JP Clark-Bekederemo and the Beginning of Modern Nigerian Literature in English (2010) and, most recently, The House My Father Built (2014).
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu was educated at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he took a degree in Dramatic Arts with Prof Wole Soyinka as Head of Department. He later bagged a Masters degree in Literature at the University of Lagos. He started out in community theatre through which he directed his first play, Doctor of Football, in 1979. His other play is A Play of Ghosts (1989). He has since ventured into journalism and currently serves as the chairman of the Editorial Board of The Union newspapers, Lagos. He was the 1989 Distinguished Visitor at the Graduate School of Journalism, University of Western Ontario, Canada, and was nominated for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2008 for his short story, ‘Cemetery of Life’, published in Wasafiri magazine, London. He is the author of the poetry collection God of Poetry. He wrote the narrative for Scottish photographer Owen Logan’s picture book, Masquerade: Michael Jackson Alive in Nigeria, exhibited at STILLS, Scotland’s Centre for Photography, Edinburgh, from 1 August to 26 October, 2014. Uzoatu lives in Lagos, Nigeria, with his wife, Chidimma, and their four children. Contact: c/o Adewale Maja-Pearce, 11 Abiona Close, Falolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Phone: 0803 313 7480. Email: maximuzoatu@yahoo.com.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Wawa Book Review Young Literary Critics Fellowship Competition.
The entries were impressive, suggesting that we have a crop of young critics who will benefit from the support the fellowship provides.
The winners are:
The period of the fellowship will begin in July 2018, and run for ten months.
We are pleased to make the Call for Entries for the 2018 Wawa Book Review Young Literary Critics Fellowship Competition.
The ten winners of the competition will be offered a ten-month fellowship during which time they will receive practical training in literary criticism, new books from around the continent, a small monthly stipend and the chance to participate in an all-expenses-paid critical writing workshop with leading critics and editors from around the continent.
Entry is free. To enter, submit a review of one book from the ten listed below.
YA/ Children’s Literature: Eno’s Story by Ayodele Olofintuade, The Torn Petal by Teresa Oyibo Ameh
Drama: Iredi War by Sam Ukala, Melancholia by Dul Johnson
Poetry: A Woman’s Body Is a Country by Dami Ajayi, A Good Mourning by Ogaga Ifowodo
Fiction: Born on a Tuesday by Elnathan John, Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Non-fiction: Love Does Not Win Elections by Ayisha Osori, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Any of the titles above may be reviewed. However, special consideration will be given to reviews of any of the books listed under the YA/ Children’s Literature and Drama categories. Nevertheless, all reviews will be judged based on the evidence of rigorous, analytical thought, creativity and a mastery of the use of English. The Terms and Conditions of the competition are below.
Terms and Conditions
Failure to meet the terms and conditions below would mean automatic disqualification from the competition: