Vitabu Books

The year's not quite a month old but it's never too early to plan ahead. 20th, July, 2012 marks thirty years since Okot p Bitek left us. In celebration of Okot's life and achievements, David Tumusiime and Brian Bwesigye are compiling an anthology to be published in July on the said theme of “Remembering Okot p Bitek” Tumusiime and Bwesigye are inviting outstanding essays, reviews, scholarly articles, poems, short fiction and interviews directly and indirectly centering on Okot p Bitek's works and life.They are also looking at the impact of Okot p Bitek at a personal level, socially, in literature, academically, historically, politically, culturally and how he was influenced in those ways. Word count: 500 - 3000 words (less for poetry where necessary) Format: An attached Word doc/docx, times new roman, 12 point, double spaced. Submissions: By email only to: okotpbitek2012@gmail.com Deadline: April, 1st, 2012 Tentatively, the anthology will be published by Kus...

Beth Fish Reads is hosting the fifth What's in a Name challenge. On her blog, she writes that the challenge was originally started by a young blogger named Annie, who hosted it for two years. But when Annie decided to give up on being the host, Beth Fish Reads took over the challenge. Here's How It Works: Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories: A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary A book with a something ...

I just stumbled upon Sherry Early's " Reading Challenge: Northern Africa. " Sherry has been interested in reading books about Africa for a while so she decided to get organized in 2012 and sponsor a challenge for herself and anyone else who wants to join in. Sherry's challenge is to read eleven books either set in north Africa or written by authors from this region in 2012. She hopes to read at least one adult book and one children’s book from Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. In Sherry's North Africa Tour, you can: 1. Read at least one book from each of the eleven countries in northern Africa. Since the challenge runs for eleven months, this challenge would entail reading one book per month. 2. Read five books set in one of the countries of northern Africa or five books by authors from one of the countries of northern Africa. Example: Read five books by Egyptian authors. 3. Read five to e...

Binyavanga Wainaina's One Day I Will Write About This Place has been released to widespread critical acclaim. Seven years in the making, it spans Wainaina’s middle-class upbringing in Kenya, his failed attempt to study in South Africa, a moving family reunion in Uganda, his travels around Kenya, music, soccer, food, politricks, beauty, tragedy, fragile ripeness, sexual fantasy, love and philosophy. On December 2, 2012, Chimurenga will host the Cape Town launch of Kwani? founding editor and celebrated writer, Binyavanga Wainaina’s groundbreaking new memoir, One Day I Will Write About This Place. Wainaina will read from his book followed by a discussion session with Centre for African Studies Director, Prof Harry Garuba. For more information visit Chimurenga Blog

Over the next 7 days, Kinna Reads, a leading African lit blogger, is hosting the 2nd annual Ghanaian Literature Week. This year’s reading event started Monday, November 14th and will run till Sunday, November 20th. I read a slim picture book that's been tucked away since I bought it at the Baltimore Book Festival . Soul Name by Naana Kyereboah , a children's writer and teacher based in the United States, touches on an important aspect of Ghanaian life: Every name has meaning and character. Published in 2007, Soul Name (Nabina Publications) is about a young girl and the journey she takes us through a remarkable naming ceremony for her one-week old brother. Here's how Naana describes Soul Name in a 2009 interview Soul Name is about an eight-year-old Ghanaian girl, Ekua, who invites you to join her and her family in the naming ceremony for her brother, Kofi. Ekua shares with us why the naming of a child is very important... The given name, which is revealed by the fa...

Rain, snow and wind have kept me indoors most of the day. Except for a morning walk to the local shop, I've been on the couch. Not even the delightful Waverly Farmers' Market on Baltimore's 32nd could drag me out to eat or play. Bundled up, I channel zap aimlessly for a bit before walking over to the book case for inspiration. My hands rested on an old Edgar Allan Poe. I thought of a friend who'd mentioned a Halloween fund raiser somewhere in Baltimore. Come to think of it, an arts program on TV had mentioned the city was having a few parties for Poe. One of them even promised an evening with him playing “Ghost Host With The Most at the most ghoulish event” billed to be “great fun for the living and the dead.” Sounded like fun (and I wish them pots of money) but with Baltimore's weather as frightful as it is, stepping out to celebrate Halloween isn't too appealing. A book or two might do the trick. So I settle for one of Poe's horror-filled shorts...

Ignorance would get the better of me many a time. A case point is a statement I made in my kitchen in Lagos many years ago: “[T]wo places in Nigeria I cannot imagine visiting— Sokoto and Calabar.” I would say this, perhaps in the same location, with this contraption called my nose way up in the air. However, all of that changed when a special birthday party took me to Calabar sometime in 1999. I marveled as I moved around the clean and serene city of Calabar...quaint, unspoiled by the corruptible winds that seemed to pervade the rest of the nation. Over time, I got to learn a lot about the land of Calabar, also known as the Canaan city. I got to learn more about her convivial people, piled on several pounds from overindulging in her extraordinary cuisine and perhaps, most importantly, discovered her amazing yet dilapidated tourist sites. Calabar, the first capital of Nigeria, seemed to have a unique take on the history of West Africa. I had heard stories of how royals sold the...