THE Abuja chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA Abuja) in what could be her last major activity before the 30th Anniversary International Convention it is scheduled to host in October, will play host to the 2011 NLNG Literature Prize finalist nominee, Chinyere Obi-Obasi to special edition of its monthly Guest Writer Session, in celebration of the writer.
In a press release issued by the chapter, the Chairman, Dr. Seyi Adigun describes Obi-Obasi as the pride of the Abuja literary community. “We are proud to have an Abuja based writer in the last three and the only way to express our appreciation is to host her to this special family edition of our monthly Guest Writer’s Session.” He said adding that “two years ago, two Abuja groomed writers made the long list of nine in the poetry category, but that prize was not awarded. This year we had two children literature writers, Obi-Obasi and Thelma Nwokeji in the last six and now Obi-Obasi in the final three. That is a testimony”.
The family edition of the Guest Writers will hold on Saturday 24th September by 3pm at the French Cultural Centre in Abuja where parents, children and other literary enthusiast will listen to the author read from her shortlisted book, The Great Fall and have the opportunity to interact with her afterwards.
The Great Fall is based on the folk tale of the race between Tortoise and Hare and how out of pride and overconfidence, Hare that could have easily beaten the Tortoise lost. It was told in the normal family setting of the Mbas with the usual interjections from children. The story as told by Mrs Mba was enlarged to depict the roles of all the animals in the drama. Mrs. Mba also used the opportunity to teach the children morals.
Families are encouraged to make it a day out for their children and wards by bringing them along to this reading as some of them will be given the opportunity to read from the book.
Chinyere Obi-Obasi has already established herself as a children's author with her earlier works, Brave Driver and The Faithful Dog. With the arrival of The Great Fall, she has simply extended and upped her stakes in this regard. The kernel of the story may not be new, but it has been told with a refreshing newness. Obi-Obasi's hands-on experience as a mother is quite obvious in this work, as she effortlessly captured the nuances of children, and even parents, at home. For this, The Great Fall is not just a book for children; adults can glean a lot about the essence of family life from it.
“While we sincerely wish all the other finalists – Mai Nasara and Ayo Olofintuade the best of luck, as the entire literary communities across the world look forward to the announcement of the eventual winner in October; we can only hope that Mrs. Chinyere Obi-Obasi would be the lucky winner, come October 8th in Lagos. She has come a long way and I believe her book is good enough to win the $100,000 prize.
Chinyere Obi-Obasi attended Federal Government Girls’ College, Benin-City. She graduated with a degree in English Language/Literature from Abia State University and law from University of Uyo. She was called to the Nigerian bar in 1993. She works with Unity Bank, Plc, and has written two children’s books, with many of her short stories appearing in anthologies, magazines and newspapers. She is a member of the Abuja Literary Society and Association of Nigerian Authors and married with children.