Library Of Africa and The African Diaspora

Radical. African. Lit.

We are delighted to announce the writers who have been selected to participate in the 2023 West African Writers (WAW) Residency at LOATAD in Accra.

We received 160 applications from eight countries across the region. Thank you to everyone who applied!

Find out more about our talented cohort below.

TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Roseline Mgbodichinma (Nigeria) is a writer passionate about documenting women’s stories. Her writing explores the intersection of nature, womanhood, emotion, bodies and desire, and how they exist and function in society. She is a law graduate and has over six years of experience in creative writing and community management. Her writing has been published in reputable magazines and journals online and in print.

Kwame Brenya (Ghana) is a multi-disciplinary artist, whose practices are strongly influenced by AKƆM; Akan philosophy. His works are born from the desire to sustain the oral traditions and history of his community where he uses the Akan language in the fields of music, spoken word, video performance, teaching, translation and voice- over. Brenya has released four studio albums that inculcate Spoken Word, Highlife, Hiplife and Palm Wine Music.

Tahnia Barrie (Sierra Leone) is a poet and writer, currently based in her country’s capital city, Freetown. Her work has been published in Commonwealth Writers’ magazine adda, Strange Horizons and Fantasy Magazine. She can be found on Twitter @TSBarrie.

MIDDLE ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Ojo Taiye (Nigeria) is a writer, cultural worker, and artist who uses poetry as a tool to hide his frustration with society. His debut mixed media installation is exhibited in Linz, Austria, as part of the 2023 Ars Electronica Festival. In his spare time, he enjoys bingeing on Netflix, browsing new opportunities, and birdwatching. He is currently at work on his second poetry pamphlet.

Ese Emmanuel (Nigeria) is a writer, cultural worker and curator, among other things. Their work prioritises the radical imaginary: conscious acts of space-making for collaboration, play, care, and rest. Ese is a Rajat Neogy Editorial Fellow at A Long House. They currently live and work between Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria.

Chris Parker Edzordzi Sefogah aka Megborna (Ghana) is an artist, poet, musician and cultural practitioner with a deep curiosity to investigate the richness and depth of the Ewe Language. His practice primarily explores sounds and narratives in capturing stories and cultural practices through spoken word (HAKPANYA), music and visuals. His exploration of sounds looks at indigenous Anlo-Ewe knowledge systems, spirituality and cultural expressions to re-examine history, reclaim Ewe (Eʋe) narratives, demand political accountability and advocate for the expression of self.

BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Bachir Tamsir Niane (Senegal) is a Senegalese academic, and a professor of contemporary African literature. His novel, Little Jamaica, was published in 2011 by Le Manuscrit in Paris and was a finalist for that year’s debut fiction prize. His second book, L’enfant de Gondar, was published in 2016. His primary focus is literary criticism and he has published essays on Magical Realism in Africa and “African Postcolonial Disillusions through Blood Petals by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and Les Soleils des independances by Ahmadou Kourouma.” Niane lives in Dakar, and is working on a thesis in African literature at Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis. He is currently editing an anthology of French-speaking African literature.

Zenas Ubere (Nigeria) is a writer and editor. A Pushcart Prize nominee, his writings appear in Isele Magazine, The Forge Lit, Agbowó, Gordon Square Review, The Voyage Journal, and elsewhere. He is the coordinator of Lolwe Classes, an editor at Africa in Dialogue, and a participant in the SBMEN-Goethe Institut Arts Writing and Criticism Workshop.

Congratulations to all our residents! We look forward to seeing what they produce.