The twelve writers taking part in the Inkubator Program, designed by Short Story Day Africa and Laxfield Literary Associates, have been announced today.
In the last few years, Short Story Day Africa has built its name as an organisation that focuses on writers and their needs. Their most popular projects have been the Short Story Day Africa Prize which has been won by Idza Luhumyo, Adam El Shalakany, Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor, Sibongile Fisher, Cat Hellisen, Diane Awerbuck, and Okwiri Oduor. They have also done workshops for writers across Africa and produced journals featuring exciting new talent that wouldn’t have gotten such a continental platform.
The newest initiative from our friends is the Inkubator which is done in partnership with Laxfield Literary Associates, a literary agency based in the UK, supported by the British Council Cultural Exchange programme. The seminar is designed for writers to develop, grow and hone their fiction writing and self-editing skills, as well as create an environment for cultural exchange and dialogue between writers from different backgrounds. It consists of six online workshops and a moderated online forum, with professional facilitation from some of Africa’s most renowned writers and editors: Tochukwu Okafor, Karen Jennings, TJ Benson, Doreen Baingana, Olumide Popoola and Emma Shercliff.
The first cohort for the project has been announced today with 12 participants, selected from 125 applicants taking part. SSDA Executive Editor, Rachel Zadok, and UK Director of SSDA, Lizzy Attree, said: “We received 125 applications from across Anglophone Africa and the UK. Narrowing them down to just 12 was incredibly difficult, as there were many wonderful stories. These 12 writers stood out for us. There is something special in each of their voices, a unique energy, and spark. We’re really looking forward to working with them over the next months to see what they produce.”
These winning writers are;
- Aba Asibon – Ghana
- Kabubu Mutua – Kenya
- Moso – Lesotho
- Doreen Anyango – Uganda
- Zanta Nkumane – eSwatini
- Khumbo Mhone – Malawi
- Nicholas A Dawn – South Africa
- Emily Pensulo – Zambia
- Josephine Sokan – Nigeria/UK
- Sola Njoku – Nigeria/UK
- Yovanka Paquete Perdigao – Guinea Bissau/Republic of Ireland
- Salma Abdilatif Yusuf – Kenya/UK
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