Three writers have arrived at the Ebedi International Writers Resort in Iseyin, Oyo State, for the October/November Residency Programme. They are Stephen Adinoyi, Tukura John Daniel and Zaasi Dawn Meneh.
Adinoyi, a Kaduna-based writes poetry, short stories, plays and film scripts. He is a former Vice Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Kaduna State Chapter and the past Chairman of the Kaduna Writers League. His works have featured in several newspapers and magazines in Nigeria and abroad, and has participated in many BBC and Commonwealth playwriting competitions. He has also been published in an anthology of Pidgin English, If Yu Hie Se A De Prizin, while his pidgin play, A No Beta Pas Mai Nebo, was recently staged in Abuja. He is a graduate of Mass Communications and a Consultant in Human Resource Development and Educational Services. Adinoyi will spend his time in Ebedi completing a collection of short stories entitled: Tales Of Chrislam. The work focuses on the tragedies, gains, loses, hypocrisies, perversions, ignorance and extremisms of the two major religions in Nigeria. It also touches on issues relating to these religions in other parts of the world.
On his part, Tukura, an Abuja-based writer and filmmaker, will be utilising the solitude at the residency to complete a new screenplay and a novel. Tukura has attended many workshops on screenwriting, such as the Ford Foundation/Afrinolly
Writers Workshop and the Bold & Beautiful Academy organised by the New York Film Academy.
Between 2013 and 2014, Tukura undertook an online Screen writing course organised by the New York Film Academy. His creative works include the screenplay, Every Woman that is currently in preproduction in Los Angeles, US.
He also wrote the screenplays Avnigo, for Ford Foundation’s Cinema4change and Mrs & Mrs Johnson for MNET.
Meneh from Rivers State is the third resident. He intends to use his six-week stay at Ebedi to work on his debut novel, The Lion’s Dream and to carry out further research on other manuscripts he is currently working on. The 2007 Accountancy graduate from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology has worked extensively in the area of research into the folktales of the South-South and North-Central states of the country.
The Ebedi International Writers Residency, a private initiative for writers to complete their on-going works at no expense to the writers, is in its fourth year of existence. Since inception, it has played host to over 50 writers from Nigeria and other African countries.
