Vitabu Books

The Library of Congress, in collaboration with the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, will host a conversation with South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile. The event, part of a series titled “Conversations with African Poets and Writers,” will start at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, in the Montpelier Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC. The program is co-sponsored by the Poetry and Literature Center and the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress. The event is free and open to the public.  No tickets are needed.  Book sales and signing will follow. Kgositsile will discuss the state of contemporary African culture, including poetry and literature, with LaVerne Page, an area specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division. Kgositsile has held the South African laureateship since 2007.  His 10 volumes of poetry include “This Way I Salute You,” “My Name is...

Sierra Leone Writers Series Publisher, Osman Sankoh, Ph.D., announced today that Fatmata Sankoh has accepted the position to serve as Business Manager for Sierra Leonean Writers Series (SLWS). She can be reached at writersseries.sl[at]gmail.com Fatmata is now working on all SLWS books to be available on amazon.com She is also working on a new look for the SLWS website www.sl-writers-series.org According to Dr. Sankoh, SLWS has achieved a major presence in Sierra Leone with one of its books. "Sierra Leone Since Independence - History of a Post-Colonial State" by Joe A. D. Alie, SLWS 2007, has been designated a recommended text for students reading government and politics at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Fatmata is now working on making 1000 copies of the book available in Sierra Leone and on amazon.com The Sierra Leonean Writers Series was set up by Dr. Osman Sankoh (Mallam O.) after he published his book "Hybrid Eyes - Reflections of an African i...

AFP reports that Britain is marking Charles Dickens' bicentenary . In Portsmouth, the city he was born on February 7, 1812, a street party will be held to mark the day. Other events will take place around the country. According to AFP, Dickens' novels were informed by his own early experiences, from the happy boyhood he spent in Kent in southeast England, before his father was thrown into the debtors' prison--on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London-- to the childhood of poverty into which he was thrust. On The Griot, Karl Bostic writes that the London of Charles Dickens was the center of what was the biggest empire in the world, and a city of 2 million people. There was a diverse population of all backgrounds: a large Irish population, a significant Jewish population, and a very visible population of African origin. In Bostic's report on Dickens' Black Londoner Inspiration he asks whether Charles Dickens drew his characters f...

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