The Benue Book and Arts festival 2019 is scheduled to take place in Makurdi, the capital city of Benue State in Nigeria from June 20-22, 2019. The theme of the festival will be “Changing Narratives.”
The Benue Book and Arts festival, directed by Su’eddie Vershima Agema, is an initiative of the Sevhage Literary & Development Initiative and Sevhage Publishers. The festival, happening for the second year, will be done in partnership with the African Writers of University of Sussex, United Kingdom and the University of Sussex. Also lending their support are the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex; Eunice Spring of Life Foundation; Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative, Adinya Arise Foundation, Women’s Right to Education, Arojah Concept, WRR & Praxis Magazine.
It promises many authors, poets, media practitioners and academics from the Nigerian literary community many of whom have written award winning works. They include Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Chuma Nwokolo, Prof Dul Johnson, Dr Maria Ajima, Agatha Agema, Adedayo Agarau, Ahmed Maiwada, Isaac Attah Ogezi, Innocence Silas Sharamang, Servio Gbadamosi, Richard Ali, Eketti Edime, Bizuum Yadok, T. J. Benson, Bash Amuneni, Efe Paul Azino, Daisy Odey, Jide Badmus, Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Alexander Ochogwu, Amara Chimeka, Maik Ortserga, Aondosoo Labe, Debbie Iorliam, Oko Owi Ocho, Torkwase Igbana, Odoh Diego Okenyodo, and Sam Ogabidu.
The festival will feature workshops, panels, book talks, theatre productions and a book sale with crazy discounted rates. New books to be launched with the authors in attendance are Once Upon a Village Tale by Su’eddie Vershima Agema and Ochogwu’s Scarlet by Alexander Emmanuel.
There will be three writing workshops on Fiction (with Abubakar Adam Ibrahim), Spoken Word (with Efe Paul Azino) and Poetry (with Chuma Nwokolo). The workshops, open to everybody, will require interested participants to send mail indicating their interest, the particular workshop and sample of their writing in the genre to sevhage@gmail.com. Selected participants will be notified and asked to pay a non-refundable fee of N2,000 for the workshop.
There will be a spoken word slam on the final day of the event worth N100,000 open to any spoken word artist from around the world. The prizes for the Sevhage Literary Competition 2019 will also be announced.
For those want to take part in the festival you can register for the event here.
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