The Nation Newspaper

Tag: African writers

  • Fellowships for African writers, journalists

    Fellowships for African writers, journalists

    A plethora of prestigious fellowships and prizes are currently open for African writers and journalists, offering lucrative rewards and invaluable opportunities for career advancement.

    The opportunities include Caine Prize for African Writing, Humanitarian Reporting Fellowship by the New Humanitarian, Dag Hammarskjöld Fellowship and Spring Fellowship.

    For the Caine Prize for African Writing, African writers are invited to submit their published fiction for consideration for the esteemed Caine Prize.  With a £10,000 cash prize and travel grants for events, this competition presents a golden opportunity for literary recognition.

    The deadline for submissions is March 31. For more details and entry rules, visit [here](https://www.caineprize.com/rules-of-entry).

    The Humanitarian Reporting Fellowship by the New Humanitarian invites African journalists passionate about humanitarian reporting to apply for this fellowship.

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    They are offering a $2500 stipend, travel grants, and a £10,000 cash prize. This fellowship promises to empower journalists to shed light on critical humanitarian issues. The application deadline is March 31. Apply [here](https://careers.thenewhumanitarian.org/o/humanitarian-reporting-fellowship-2).

    Also, the Dag Hammarskjöld Fellowship wants freelance and full-time journalists to seize the opportunity to apply for the Dag Hammarskjöld Fellowship. With benefits including travel expenses and accommodation, this fellowship provides a platform for journalists to delve into international affairs.

    The application deadline is April 5. Learn more (https://unjournalismfellowship.org/).

    Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian, and South African writers who have not yet published a book are encouraged to apply for the SprinNG Fellowship.

      The fellowship is offering mentorship, training, and publishing opportunities. It aims to nurture emerging literary talent.

     The deadline for applications is April 15. Apply [here](https://sprinng.org/writing-fellowship).

     These prestigious opportunities serve as a testament to the wealth of talent within the African literary and journalistic spheres, providing avenues for recognition, professional development, and impactful storytelling.

  • ‘African writers should contribute to ending poverty’

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman has urged African writers to do stories that would inspire Africa to attain greater height. He made the call at the welcome ceremony of the 7th edition of Ake Arts and Books Festival held at the Alliance Francaise in Lagos with the theme “Black Bodies, Grey Matter.”

    In his goodwill message to authors drawn from across Africa and the Diaspora, Suleiman stressed the importance of storytelling, saying its outcome is the reason why people do the things they do, and the reason why they live the way they live.

    The Sterling Bank helmsman advised African writers not to write stories to entertain people only but rather create contents that could lift Africans out of poverty to prosperity.

    He said it was  a wrong notion to hold that works of arts are what people do when they have done everything else or what they do when every other thing has failed.

    “All that we know about ourselves and history are the works of artists, even the things that are backed by data. All that we do is to understand them in context and that context is the work of artists. If you take away the context, the story would change completely,” he said.

    In her welcome address, the Director of Ake Arts and Books Festival, Lola Shoneyin, disclosed that the festival attracted more creatives – writers, filmmakers, poets, photographers, thinkers, actors, dancers and artistes – from more African countries than ever before.

    Commending the festival’s headline sponsor, Sterling Bank, Shoneyin said, “I am very proud to say that Ake Arts and Book Festival is now one of the few festivals on the African continent that has an indigenous company as its main partner.

    Sterling Bank has taken the step of partnering with Ake Festival for the foreseeable future. This partnership gives me so much hope.”