Enugu 2019 – ANA’s Homecoming

The 38th International Convention of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) is set to take place in Enugu between 31st October and 3rd November, 2019 at Sunshine Hotel and Guest House Enugu and International Conference Centre, Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu respectively with the theme ”Literature, Nationalism and the Poetics of Integration.”

ANA’s first convention took place in 1981 when the Association was established by the patriarch of Modern African Literature, Chinua Achebe and others in the University town of Nsukka, and ever since, the convention has never been held in Enugu State; and for this reason, the leadership of the association tagged the convention "ANA Homecoming."

The Chairman of ANA Enugu State Chapter, Zulu Ofoelue and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) headed by Hon. Ndubuisi Ene are all working hard to make sure that the convention which will feature an evening of palm wine, folklores, drama, cultural night, literary prizes award dinner, tour around Enugu, etc. is a success.

The association will also elect new National President during the convention to man the affairs of the Association at the National level as the tenure of the current president Denja Abdullahi and his team ends.

The Chairman of ANA Enugu State Chapter, Zulu Ofoelue on Monday the 14th of October, 2019, made it known to the public in a Press Conference that the convention which is an annual ritual of ANA will have in attendance the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu), as Chief Host; Prof E.E.Sule of the IBB University, Lapai in Niger State, as Keynote Speaker and Professor Ernest Emenyonu, a Trustee of ANA and Editor, African Literature Today who is coming as a Special Guest. He stated that over 400 of Nigerian’s best and foremost creative writers, literary critics, journalists, members of the academia and other stake holders have registered to attend the convention, adding that three new Fellows of ANA and distinguished writers and scholars will be inducted during the opening ceremony namely: Prof Zaynab Alkali, Prof J.O.J Nwachukwu-Agbada and Prof Remi Raji while the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi will be conferred as a patron of the Association also during the opening ceremony.

The national convention is aimed at promoting cultural values and encouraging creativity and will no doubt, promote nationalism via its poetics of integration.

Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo Co-Win Booker Prize

Photo Credit: The Guardian

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have emerged winners of this year’s Man Booker Prize. Deciding one winner must have been a tough one for the judges that made them settle for two. According to Peter Florence, the chairman of the Booker judges, they were told that the rules state that there will only be one winner. But they flouted the Man Booker strict rules and divided this year’s prize to celebrate two winners who were announced on Monday.

Photo Credit: The Guardian

According to BBC News, it wasn’t an easy decision by the judges to rebel and award the prize to two writers this year. The judges, including author Xiaolu Guo and Editor Liz Calder, spent over three hours trying to pick a winner before asking if they could choose both but they got no for an answer. Since they were given no better choice, and since they couldn’t tell which of the two books to award, they made it known to the Booker organizers that their final decision is for the two books to be awarded. Yet, their decision was unacceptable until their third attempt thirty minutes later that the Booker Prize’s trustees accepted the decision.

Evaristo, the first black woman to win the Booker Prize won for her novel titled “Girl, Woman, Other” while Atwood, won for her novel titled “The Testaments,” which is a sequel to her 1985 dystopian classic, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She won in 2000 for “The Blind Assassin.”

Photo Credit: BBC News

Four other novels were shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize and they include Lucy Ellmann's "Ducks, Newburyport," Chigozie Obioma’s "An Orchestra of Minorites,"  Salman Rushdie’s "Quichotte," and Elif Shafak's "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World." 

The 50,000 pounds Man Booker Prize, one of the literary world’s most prestigious prizes, will be shared among Evaristo and Atwood. Past winners include Rushdie, Hilary Mantel and J.M. Coetzee.


Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi