My Mind Words Paper:
poetry

Deadline: 30 June 2012

The 2011 Annual Writing Competition is going to be fun and exciting! This year’s themes are different for both adults and kids…so there’s more options to let your creativity flow.
Go wild and let your thoughts and imagination run free.

This is YOUR chance to explore South Africa’s National Parks...with words and photos!

Share your thoughts or questions on the official SANParks Annual Writing Competition facebook fan page!

There are separate themes for Adults and children. These stories/poems/essays must be based on real-life experiences in one of the 19 National Parks in South Africa.

Children

Categories

- Stories (ages 8 - 12): real account
- Stories (ages 13 - 17): real account

- Poetry (ages 8 - 12): 5-10 words
- Poetry (ages 13 - 17): (40– 150 words)

- Essays (2 000 words)

Themes (There are 3 themes that you can tackle for all the children categories)

1. My cool adventure driving through the parks with my dad/mom - the driver :)

2. Most memorable experience at any of the National Parks…begins with: ”I could never have imagined my adventure in the wild…"

3. Describe your first experience at Table Mountain....beginning with these 2 sentences:
- “As I stood at the bottom of the magnificent Table Mountain… “
- “My heart beat a little faster as I stepped onto the cableway….”

Adults

Categories

- Short Stories (1 000 - 2 500 words): real account

- Essays (4 000 words)

- Poetry (50– 150 words)

Themes (There are 2 themes that you can tackle for all the adult categories)

1) Memorable wildlife adventures
2) My 4x4 experiences

Trip reports (accounts of real trips to the Parks)

Material submitted in this category should comprise of an engagingly written account/report of a trip to a SANParks park over the last 12 months. Reports in this category should convey a strong sense of place. **Trip reports published on our forums will be accepted.**
1) Memorable wildlife adventures
2) My 4x4 experiences

You need to reflect passion for wildlife, our heritage – so let your words and images be your canvas :)

Prizes

Winners will receive R1 000 each to be utilised for accommodation during a mid-week break. Prizes must be redeemed within 6 months from the date of issue.

Competition Rules

Your entry/entries must make reference to the competition theme.

Your entry/entries must be original, in English, unpublished and not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission.

This is an online initiative and as such only electronic copy will be accepted.

Entrants should submit their writing via e-mail as attached word documents to editor@sanparks.org with the subject line of the e-mail clearly stating: Writing Competition and Category (e.g. 2011 Writing Competition: Poetry).

Each word document should also be prefaced by the following information.
Name: Joe Blob
Postal Address: P.O. Box xyz
Physical Address
Nationality: South African
Cellphone/mobile (if a minor - please send through guardian's number): 6843754733
Land Line: 7632654p48
E-mail: xyz@email.com
Category: Poetry
Word Count: 157

You can enter more than one piece of writing. If you do however; each piece must have a category clearly indicated in the upper left-hand corner. This information will be entered into our database and confirmation of receipt will be sent to you.

Judging & Notification

Entries accepted for display are determined at the discretion of the Web Content Editor.

Every entry will be read by the Web Content Editor. The Web Content Editor reserves the right to re-categorise entries.

The entries in each category deemed suitable for publication will be made available on the SANParks website, where they will be publicly judged in an electronic poll (on the Forums), hosted on the SANParks site. Voters will be required to fill a simple electronic voting form.
You will receive notification of the receipt of your manuscript via e-mail.
Entries must be received by 12 noon 30 June 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: editor@sanparks.org

For submissions: editor@sanparks.org

Website: http://sanparks.org.za

Book Republic is the literary blog imprint of Emotion Press, previously showcased here on Naijastories. They are scouting for the next writing talent in Nigeria that they can work with. In order to do that, they are presently accepting Short Essays, Poems and Short Stories from interested writers for publication on their blog - www.progresspublishing.wordpress.com.

The blog is dedicated towards promoting the writing and reading culture in Nigeria and Africa in general. Emotion Press strongly believes that refined African voices should be heard and celebrated in the written format.

CATEGORIES

• POETRY- 20 – 40lines
• Short Story – 850 – 3000 words
• Short Essays – 1000 – 3000 words

Entry Fee: Free

Via: naijastories.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: Bookrepublic2012@gmail.com

For submissions: Bookrepublic2012@gmail.com

Website: www.progresspublishing.wordpress.com

The Kalahari Review is an African-eccentric magazine interested in material exploring Africa and Africans in unique and avant-garde ways. We are looking for stories that have not often been told but should be – through voices that have not yet been heard - but should.

We hope to push the limits and expose the world to aspects of Africa not often shown - both the positives and the negatives. We are interested in pieces about and from Africans living abroad as well.

Please take the time to enjoy the content of the site and get a feel for it before submitting.

Because this is a web-based publication there are no word count restrictions.

Compensation is paid on publication.

All submissions should be emailed to: editor@kalaharireview.com

Fiction, Poetry, Essays, and Humor Pieces: Should be sent as a PDF or WORD attachment and should be accompanied by a proper query letter in the body of the email. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the query letter.

Photos, Art Work and Cartoon Portfolios: Should be sent as a PDF, JPG. or PNG attachments and should be accompanied by a proper query letter in the body of the email. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the query letter. (Note: this area particularly the publication is interested only in avant-garde content. We are not interested in ordinary wildlife or landscapes. Portraits will be considered if they have a unique quality to them.)

Feature Articles, News Articles, Profiles, Exposés, Conversations and Interviews: Please attach your pitch letters as a PDF or WORD attachment. Please include any photos or graphic illustrations that you feel would help your pitch. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the letter.

Note: Please thoroughly check your submissions for proper formatting, grammar and punctuation. Gross errors in these areas will seriously damage any works consideration for publication.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: editor@kalaharireview.com

For submissions: editor@kalaharireview.com

Website: http://www.kalaharireview.com

Deadline: 15 February 2012

WABO is calling for submissions from members only for the third edition of our literary journal, Mahube. The theme is WATER.

What we’re looking for:

- poems (maximum of 3) 40 lines maximum
- short stories (maximum of 2) under 1000 words
- creative non-fiction under 1000 words

The deadline for submissions is the 15 February 2012. Email all submissions to botswanawriters@gmail.com.

Submission guidelines:

1. On the first page of your submission include: the title of your piece, your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, and the date on which your membership was paid and membership number.
2. Please write MAHUBE 2012 in the subject line of your email
3. Send as an attachment.
4. Submissions can be in English or Setswana.
5. Writing previously published in other countries is allowed. Please give the publishing history of the piece.
6. Only emailed, typed submissions will be allowed.

All submissions must be accompanied by a letter declaring that the submitted works are the original work of the author who retains the copyright. Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Contributors whose work is published will receive one free copy of Mahube.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: botswanawriters@gmail.com

For submissions: botswanawriters@gmail.com

Website: http://writersassociationofbotswana.blogspot.com

Deadline: 1 April 2012

Superstition Review is now accepting submissions of art, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for Issue 9 to be launched April 1, 2012.

Guidelines

Superstition Review is published twice yearly in April and December. We only accept submissions during our two reading periods in fall (September and October) and spring (January and February). During our submissions period we welcome submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art. No previously published works are accepted.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but please alert Superstition Review to a piece's potential publication elsewhere. Superstition Review acquires one-time rights. All rights subsequently revert to author.

Fiction

One story of up to 5000 words, double-spaced may be submitted by an individual author per publishing period. Do not send previously published work (either online or print). Please include a 100-word bio highlighting literary, academic, and artistic achievements on the first page of the document. If your work is accepted, we will also request a high quality head shot photo of at least 300 pixels.

Nonfiction

One essay of up to 5000 words, double-spaced may be submitted by an individual author per publishing period. Do not send previously published work (either online or print). Please include a 100-word bio highlighting literary, academic, and artistic achievements in the first page of the document. If your work is accepted, we will also request a high quality head shot photo of at least 200 pixels.

Poetry

Up to 4 poems, single spaced, may be submitted by an individual author per publishing period. Please submit all poems in one file. Do not send previously published (either online or print) work. Please include a 100-word bio highlighting literary, academic, and artistic achievements on the first page of the document. If your work is accepted, we will also request a high quality head shot photo of at least 300 pixels.

Contact Information:

For submissions: http://superstitionreview.submishmash.com/submit

Website: http://superstitionreview.asu.edu/n8/

Deadline: 31 March 2012

On your marks, get set, write!

An independently published e-book anthology of children’s poetry dedicated to the wide world of sports is in the works.

ADULTS who write children’s poetry, including those who are emerging poets, are invited to submit their work.

We’re looking for original, unpublished poems, written in English, aimed at 5- to 12-year-olds that deal with various aspects of athletics:

• Olympics and other major international sports events (i.e., FIFA World Cup)
• winter/summer, individual/team sports
• winning and losing
• amateur/professional athletes
• sports fans and those behind the scenes (coaches, refs, etc.)
• equipment/uniforms and places where sports are played
• sports history and other miscellanea (halls of fame, records, trivia, etc.)

Poets whose work is selected for the collection will receive a small honorarium.

We will contact you shortly after the deadline if we plan to include your poem in the anthology.

A portion of the anthology’s proceeds will be donated to Right to Play, an organization working with volunteers and partners to use sport and play to enhance child development in areas of disadvantage.

Please email poems to Carol-Ann Hoyte at kidlitfan1972@yahoo.ca.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: kidlitfan1972@yahoo.ca

For submissions: kidlitfan1972@yahoo.ca

Date: 4 October 2011

"THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH SHOW" is a brand new show presented by Tony Tokunbo Fernandez that will start on Tuesday the 4th of October at 5pm and will run every tuesday for four weeks as part of The Black History Month Celebrations in Berkshire and the UK.
Fernandez will continue to present "AFRICANS IN BERSHIRE" every Tuesday at 6pm after "THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH SHOW".

Every Tuesday in October, from 5pm, Fernandez will keep you posted with the very latest Black History Month Social Events, Projects and Initiatives taking place in Berkshire and The UK as well as interviewing Role Models and Mentors who are making a profound contribution to Black History Month.

The show will be a combination of black historical education and entertainment with inspirational stories, guests spots, Black History recordings, Jamaican folklore, short stories and poetry. Also get the chance to listen to the very best of Reggae, Motown, RNB, Oldies and so much more, for more info ring him on 07882809005

The Guest spots for The Black History Month are nearly filled but this is a perfect opportunity to be entertained and informed about Black History Month in the UK

In the month of October, Fernandez will be presenting two shows- "THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH" every Tuesday at 5pm to 6pm and then "AFRICANS IN BERKSHIRE" (immediately after) every Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm.

Two hours of entertainment all in one evening.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: call Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez on 07882809005

Website: http://www.reading4u.co.uk/

Date: 1 October 2011

The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Niger State Branch presents Writers' Spell: Session 3 featuring “INDEFINITE CRAVINGS” (collection of poems) by Paul T. Liam under the distinguished chairmanship of Bar. Ahmed Maiwada (renowned Poet and Author of Musdoki)

Venue: Late Abubakar Imam Library Complex (State Library)

Time: 10:00am

Contact Information:

For inquiries: ana.niger@yahoo.com

Website: see their Facebook page here

Are you a translator or poet passionate to bring innovative Arabic poetry to English readers? Submit your work to info@tribes.org. Chosen work will be published in the 2012 issue of the “A Gathering of the Tribes" Magazine, a NY-based art and literature publication.

Via: leadersot.org

Contact Information:

For inquiries: info@tribes.org

For submissions: info@tribes.org

Website: http://www.tribes.org

Date: 21 September 2011

Night of the Poets - Live and raw!

Local poetic talents showcase their art of words to a backdrop of reggae beats on 21 September celebrating heritage month, featuring Mo'Afrika and 5th Groove. TICKETS R50 Computicket and at the Door.

Where: State Theatre, 320 Pretorius Street, Tshwane, Gauteng, South Africa

Contact Information:

For inquiries: call 012 392 4000

Date: 1 October 2011

The University of Johannesburg's Doornfontein arts and culture office and its poetry group, Afro Alphabets will be hosting its First annual Izimbbongi Poetry festival on the 1st of October 2011. Happening at 12h00 midday at the Con Cowan Theatre on the Auckland park Campus,the festival boasts with line up of over 30 incredible Poets and collectives.

These include, Likwid Tongue (hosts), Romeo The Poet, Nova, Mak Manaka, The Lazarus Man, Mutle, Afurakan, T.O.T(collective), Lilly Million, 21Poets and a poem, Flo, Sabelo and El nino, Eric mashinyane, Kb Kilobyte, Quaz, Fore.Word (collective), Rennie Alexander, Rantoloko The Truth, Vallentine, MagnumOpus, Donald The Neosapien, Ballardy composition (collective), Thandokuhle Siphukwazi Mngqibisa, Emma, Penumbra, Poets of light, Ellipsis, Beaucy, Masai Dabula, and Moho Katalyst.

The festival seeks to bring together under one roof, all the new, active and emerging voices that make up the Johannesburg Poetry landscape. It promises to be a day of words and mind blowing performances.

Entrance fee is R20.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: contact Quaz at +2782 067 8104

Date: 24 September 2011

The budding poet, Gimba Kakanda, takes his turn at the highly-acclaimed Guest Writer Session on September 24, 2011. An initiative of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF), now in its third year, the event holds at the Pen and Pages Bookstore, White House Plaza, Plot 79, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja and has featured an exciting array of emerging and established writers.

Kakanda who is is in his mid-twenties, and hails from the Kakandas who inhabit the banks of the River Niger especially the stretch that runs through Niger State, had his primary and secondary education at Minna and Suleja before enrolling in the University of Jos to study geology and aspires to delve into Planetary Science out of passion for the mysteries of creation.

But it is his other passion, creative writing, which has thrust his name in the limelight via his recent maiden poetry collection, Safari Pants. The poet Obemata in a review of the collection, states that “the complexity of his (Kakanda’s) poetry sure makes him one of the must read poets of his generation…. Divided into five parts: ‘Whistles of aches’, ‘The pain-beats sag into nothingness’, ‘We stitch the drum skin with the muscles of hunger’, ‘Taken away in the dance-past for rhythmic silence, we dancestep on one another,’ and ‘We plant furs on the sore of our depression’, “Safari Pants”, as songs to ‘appease the rage and love of those of those repelled and embraced by the magnetism of [this] writing life’, represents a significant offering to Nigeria’s contemporary poetry .”

The literary journalist, Henry Akubuiro, also observes that “Kakanda has a way with words. Here is an emerging wordsmith whose forge of semantics takes you unawares… His fine turns of expressions, the felicity of his symbols and his constancy of artistic purpose readily sells him as a poet for the sublime zone. This is a poet you read with a strudel by your side.” Kakanda says “Safari Pants, (was) born in ambiguity; I realized that when I was collecting the poems into a volume. The first concept of safari used in the book is created in thought of the usual safari expedition, used with the respiratory ‘pants’; so, safari pants are the hard breaths, nay struggles we take on our expedition through life. The second face of the title comes from the safari dress; here the safari pant which some of us wear is used to portray a dress that, accidentally, symbolizes troubled life by a particular experience of mine or simply, safari pant is metaphor of drudgery. Actually, the second side of the title came to me during a demonstration in which a lad dressed in safari pant was chased by a dog and had his pant torn by the beast. This quite pricked a poem in me because the safari pants I was used to weren’t a fashion that goes with haughtiness. Nonetheless, interchangeable images of Safari the expedition and Safari the dress is used in this collection; by this I have to say both sides of the meaning fits in, ambiguously, on occasions that the readers conjure their meanings.”

Kakanda who is currently putting finishing touches to a novel tentatively titled Night Book, hass had essays on literary criticism, review of books and trends, travelogues, poems and reactions to topical issues have published in variousnewspapers, local and international anthologies, andjournals and literary and social websites, including: Leadership, New Nigerian, The Guardian, People’s Daily, Sunday Trust, Tribune, Vanguard, Weekly Trust (Newspapers); Fireflies (2009), Voices from the Sun (2010) (poetry anthologies); Sentinel Nigeria, Prosopisia: An International Journal of Poetry and Creative Writing (Journals); gamji.com, switchedonnaija.com, halftribe.com (websites).

He is the literary/book analyst of Books & Hills Consultancy, a new literary agency that focuses on linking emerged and emerging writers up with internationally recognised publishers, and, the founding editor of Nupewood, a forthcoming magazine of the Nupe movie industry.

He was a panelist at the first Bayelsa Book & Craft fair (March, 2011), and won a slot to the 2011 edition of the annual Farafina Creative Writing Workshop facilitated by the novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The September 24 Guest Writer Session will include the usual side attractions of poetry performance, mini art exhibition, and a raffle-draw as well as live music. The Abuja Writer’s Forum meets three Sundays each month and hosts a reading on every last Saturday at the International Institute of Journalism and Pen and Pages respectively.

Abdullahi Abubakar

Contact Information:

For inquiries: abujawriters@fastermail.com

Website: http://www.abujawritersforum.com/

Deadline: 30 November 2011

The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers recognizes outstanding young poets and is open to high school sophomores and juniors throughout the world. The contest winner receives a full scholarship to the Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop. In addition, the winning poem will be published in The Kenyon Review. The runners up will also see their poems published.

The contest is named in honor of Patricia Grodd in recognition of her generous support of The Kenyon Review and its programs, as well as her passionate commitment to education and deep love for poetry.

The final judge of the contest is KR poetry editor David Baker.

Submissions will be accepted electronically November 1 through November 30, 2011. The link to the submissions page for the contest will be active on November 1, 2011.

Guidelines:

• Only one submission per entrant
• Must be a high school sophomore or junior to enter

• .PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
• .DOC (Microsoft Word)
• .RTF (Rich Text Format)
• .TXT (Microsoft Wordpad and Notepad, Apple TextEdit.)

For inquiries: kenyonreview@kenyon.edu

For submissions: the link to the submissions page for the contest will be active on November 1, 2011

Website: http://kenyonreview.org

Deadline: 29 October 2011

You may be interested in our earlier call for submission of poems in Naija (Nigerian pidgin). This is to publish an anthology of poems in the language shortly. Have your thoughts expressed in Naija langwej.

Try your hands in writing a minimum of 3 poems but maximum of 5 in Naija and send them to edbabor@gmail.com

***

Arojah Concepts, an Abuja based edutainment outfit in collaboration with SOMETIN FO EVRIBODI has concluded plans to publish an Antoloji of Naija Puems (Poems in Nigerian Pidgin) and thereby wishes to invite interested Nigerians to send in their entries.

The anthology which will be released in the third quarter of the year is part of efforts by the organizers, in collaboration with the Naija Langwej Akademi and the Institute Francaise de Recherche en Afrique au.

Nigeria (IFRA Nigeria) to promote writings in Naija Langwej (aka Nigerian Pidgin) which is growing steadily across the country. Interested Nigerians/Poets are expected to send in their entries in accordance with the following guidelines:

- Between 3 – 5 poems written purely in Naija langwej (pidgin English).
- Each of the five poems must not be more than 2 typed pages
- Typed with font size 14 (point) Garamond
- Must be original and never published
- Poets/poems are free to explore any theme/subject of their choice.
- Poems are free to offer an appraisal of the relationship and cultures of Nigeria and other cultures.
- Entries should include contact details of Poets.
- Allentries in MS word should be mailed to arojahconcepts@yahoo.com or edbabor@gmail.com

Ten poems will be selected from all the entries received and the Poets will receive various categories of prizes in appreciation of their creativity.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: call 0803 453 0786, 0808 090 0813

For submissions: arojahconcepts@yahoo.com or edbabor@gmail.com

Website: http://arojahconcepts.wordpress.com

Date: 26 September 2011

Internationally acclaimed literary figures Chinua Achebe, Gabriel Okara, and Brenda Marie Osbey will discuss "Voice and Memory in the Poetic Imagination" on Monday, September 26, 2011 at 4 p.m. in the George Houston Bass Performing Arts Space, Churchill House, 155 Angell St. It is free and open to the public and also available to view in a live Webcast.

Considered icons of African literature, Achebe and Okara have never before shared a stage for a public conversation and readings from their works. Nigerian poet and novelist Okara, recipient of the 1979 Commonwealth Poetry Prize, is known as the first significant English-language African poet. He is believed to be the oldest living English language writer in Africa. Achebe, best known for Things Fall Apart (1958) and Collected Poems (2004), is the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies at Brown. Osbey, the 2005-07 poet laureate of Louisiana and author of the award-winning All Saints: New and Collected Poems (1997), is currently a distinguished visiting professor of Africana studies at Brown. The conversation will be moderated by author Nduka Otiono, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Africana Studies.

The conversation will include a discussion about Achebe, Okara, and Osbey’s poetry and artistic visions, the role of poetry and the arts in society, and the ways in which poetry can create opportunities for change. The dialogue is the first in the 2011-12 Conversations in Africana Writing series, organized by the Department of Africana Studies.

Via: news.brown.edu

Deadline: 9 September 2011

Theme/Topic: This is my Africa

Prizes:

1st Place: Season Pass, a spot in all the workshops for the day, access to Pink Lounge to mingle with the Stars.

2nd Place: Gate Pass for one of the first two days, including entry to all workshops of the day.
Deadline to send in poem: Friday 9th September 2011 at 4pm East African Time. Send in your poem in word 97 attachment to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Make sure you mark in the subject line: Storymoja Hay Festival Poetry Writing Contest (all submissions not marked as such will be disregarded).

Winners will be informed of which day the specific workshops fall on so they can schedule themselves.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke

For submissions: blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke

Website: http://storymojaafrica.wordpress.com

Date: 27 August 2011

Debutante novelist, Umari Ayim, will take the Abuja literati through the fictional world of Twilight At Terracotta Indigo, her maiden published work on August 27, 2011 at the pace-setting Guest Writer Session of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF). Now in its third year, the event holds at the Pen and Pages Bookstore, White House Plaza, Plot 79, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja and consistently features an exciting array of emerging and established writers.

Umari Rosemary Ayim who hails from Cross River State is in her twenties and has taken a daring professional move by being a full-time writer rather than practicing law. She attended Federal Government Girls College, New Bussa, Niger State and proceeded to the University of Lagos to study law. After graduation, she could no longer hold back her passion for writing and began work on what has now become her debut novel, Terracotta Indigo. Issued by MagicWand Publishing, the novel is set in Lagos and explores the city’s disposition as a melting pot of cultures through characters who reside in the highbrow areas of Victoria Island and Lekki.
According to Ayim, her motivation for writing the novel is from the desire to address the inherent problems of tribalism, social and class discrimination, stigmatization and the effect of poverty. In a recent review of the novel, writer and literary activist Dr Kabura Zakama, who is also a veterinarian professionally, observes that the author, “has served us with a delicious story that captivates us from the deceptively simple opening to the surprising twist at the end. Miss Ayim’s voice comes through as a fresh breath on the Nigerian literary scene and is someone worth watch out for.”

While Bola Essien-Nelson writes, “as far as I'm concerned, (Terracotta Indigo is) a supremely well thought out and superbly spun romantic thriller! I was totally blindsided and did not see THAT (ending) coming at all! Great job Umari! I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it.”

Recounting the process of putting the novel together, Ayim states on her blogsite:” For me, it was a journey that had its ups and downs. From the moment I put the first lines down on a scanty forty leaves notebook I had stumbled across in my hostel room in 2008, I fell in love with Marlene and drooled over Femi's cucumber cool character. The story rolled past my pen ink and by I started hitting the keyboard of my Acer laptop, my fingers flew effortlessly and of their own accord. Apparently, I had known Femi and Marlene in another life and befriended them.

"Twilight at Terracotta Indigo for me was more than a story, it was part of a healing process. I had just come out of a relationship, and I need an outlet for my emotions. Coupled with my endless musing about life and the social practices I saw as unfair, I poured my heart out into the story. There were those terror filled nail biting moments when I sorted through my lines, checking to see if the suspense had been maintained and the potential reading audience had enough to keep them turning page after page till they found answers to the questions that seemed to trail the lives of my characters.”

Ms Ayim acknowledges that her interest in writing started first through being exposed to a reading culture by her dad at an early stage, who as early as when she was eight years would explain William Shakespeare’s plays to her. She eventually became fascinated by the play Macbeth which she read severally and began reciting her favourite lines to classmates and teachers. At secondary school she was drawn to several titles in the African Writers Series (AWS). However, she cites the African-American writer and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, as a major influence on her writing and social consciousness.

The Abuja-based Ayim belongs to a fledgling Pan-Africanist feminist group, WomenUnder30 with membership currently drawn from Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia and Zimbabwe. The group seeks to promote excellence among African young women under the age of 30 through the use of Information and Communication Technology. This activist side of her is also reflected in several articles which have been published in the Guardian Newspapers.

Apart from writing fiction and blogging, Ms Ayim writes plays and has a forthcoming poetry collection. She also is working on a second novel whose working title is “Khaki”, an indication of the subject-matter.

The Guest Writer Session includes side attractions of poetry performance, mini art exhibition, a raffle-draw for book, and a stirring dose of live music. The Abuja Writer’s Forum meets three Sundays each month and hosts a reading on every last Saturday at the International Institute of Journalism and Pen and Pages respectively. -Abdullahi Abubakar, Public Relations Officer, AbujaWriters’ Forum

Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Location: Pen and Pages Bookstore, White House Plaza, Plot 79, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja

Contact Information:

For inquiries: abujawriters@fastermail.com

Website: http://www.abujawritersforum.com

Deadline: 12 September 2011

he City of Cape Town is celebrating Heritage Month. Our theme is My City, My Heritage – Celebrating our Diverse Culture. Young, aspirant artists and poets are invited to enter this art competition and tell us what this theme means to you!

Categories:

Poetry

Junior Section – Grade R to Grade 3
Middle Section – Grade 4 to Grade 7
Senior Section – Grade 8 to Grade 12

Art

Junior Section – Grade R to Grade 3
Middle Section – Grade 4 to Grade 7
Senior Section – Grade 8 to Grade 12

Applicants must use the prescribed application forms below -

Please click here to downlaod the Poetry Compettion application form
Please click here to download the Art Competition application form

The application forms can also be collected from all libraries, subcouncil offices and the Art B Gallery and Art Centre in Bellville. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 12 September 2011.

Prizes

• Each entrée will receive a Participation Certificate.
• Prize for the winner in each category will be a visit to the Council Chambers and a tour to the World Heritage Site, Robben Island on 30 September 2011
• All submissions will be exhibited at the Heritage Expo on the Concourse level, Civic Centre, which will run from 20 – 23 September 2011.

• Art B Gallery, Bellville Library Centre, Carl van Aswegen Road, Bellville
• Arts & Culture Offices, 14th Floor Telkom Tower, Standard Bank Building, Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town
• South Peninsula Sub-Council, Municipal Offices, Central Circle, Off Recreation Road, Fish Hoek

Contact Information:

For inquiries: artand.culture@capetown.gov.za

Website: http://www.capetown.gov.za/

Dates: 17 - 22 October 2011

The Poetry Africa international poetry festival takes place in Durban in early October, predominantly featuring poets from South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent. The seven-day programme includes performances, music, book-launches, the Durban SlamJam, seminars, workshops, open mic sessions, and school programmes. Poetry Africa satellite events take place in other cities and countries. Poetry Africa is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN).

Confirmed Poets for 2011:

Didier Awadi (Senegal), Gabeba Baderoon (South Africa), Joshua Bennett (USA), Jaap Blonk (The Netherlands), TJ Dema (Botswana), Dikson (Zimbabwe), Sandile Dikeni (South Africa), Myesha Jenkins (South Africa), Khadijatou (United Kingdom), Phelelani Makhanya (South Africa), Oswald Mtshali (South Africa), Dashen Naicker (South Africa), Niyi Osundare (Nigeria), Shailja Patel (Kenya), Fernando Rendon (Colombia), Patrice Treuthardt (Reunion), Uzinzo (South Africa), Mphutlane wa Bofelo (South Africa), David wa Maahlamela (South Africa), Raul Zurita (Chile).

Tour participants:

Didier Awadi and Tibass Kangu (both from Senegal), Chiwoniso Maraire (Zimbabwe), Kwame Dawes (Ghana/Jamaica), TJ Dema (Botswana), Lebo Mashile (South Africa), Shailja Patel (Kenya). Chris Abani (Nigeria) joins the tour for Johannesburg, Zimbabwe and Cape Town; Jaap Blonk (Netherlands) for Zimbabwe and Cape Town; South Africans Gabeba Baderoon and Sandile Dikeni for Cape Town. Local poets will also participate in the showcases in the respective centres.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: cca@ukzn.ac.za

Website: http://www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

Emotion Press, Ibadan is dedicated towards one major purpose - projecting the future ones. Through her imprint, Omojojolo Books, Emotion Press strongly plans to publish and market quality books with an irresistible creative African aroma.

Most potential authors has gone through the hassles of giving their creative works to roadside Printers, in the cloth of Publishers, only to realize that their works had been 'badly' projected to the reading audience.

A publishing story

Months back after writing a twenty thousand word novel, I realized I would need a good publisher to project my words to the right audience. I got the publisher! He edited and designed the whole book.That was after I had coughed out hundreds of thousands, some of which I
borrowed from my Cooperative society. Then, he did something that took my breath away. After he had printed a thousand copies of the book, he told me to start 'telling people'. I thought he was just trying to carry me along in the publishing process.Then he started withdrawing form the project. I realized I was to market my books by myself. A civil servant marketing books!

On Omojojolo Books

We are presently accepting the following for publication:

- Collection Of Short Stories
- Novel
- Plays
- Poetry
-Memoir
- Motivational

What we do:

-Publish The Book
-Market And Distribute The Book
-Pay Yearly Royalties To Omojojolo Authors.

How to publish with us:

-Submit The First Three chapters of the manuscript [If A novel or non-fiction] TO EMOTIONPRESS2011@GMAIL.COM

-Poetry Or Drama: Submit the full script to Emotionpress2011@gmail.com.

Give us 3 weeks to reply to your request.

Our Customer Service:

We will soon make the aforementioned department available. To order for our publishing information package, mail Emotionpress2011@gmail.com. Make the subject Omojojolo Publishing Package.

We look forward to publishing you.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: EMOTIONPRESS2011@GMAIL.COM

For submissions: EMOTIONPRESS2011@GMAIL.COM

Website: http://emotionbookclub.wordpress.com/