Ibadan young writers’ summit, literary festival holds

EDUCATIONAL and literacy development organisation, BIBLOPHILLIA Nigeria, has announced the maiden Young Writers’ Summit and Literary Festival.

Happening on April 21 at Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, the summit is in collaboration with the Oyo State government, Association of Nigeria Authors, University of Ibadan and Medianett Limited.

The chief executive officer of BIBLOPHILLIA Nigeria, Kayode Adejumo-Bello, disclosed that the meeting’s objectives include celebrating the city’s literary heritage; discovering new literary talents; producing the next generation of literary stars; and creating a supportive, non-competitive environment where teenage writers can work together.

“Essentially, the summit will not only address the dearth of great writers of Ibadan literary ancestry and origin, it is expected to stimulate academic and cultural revival of a city in the quest to, on one hand, redeem and, on the other, recreate itself with a view toset the city back on track as Africa’s capital of creative writing and literary excellence,” he said

According to the promoter, two levels of participation are available: junior category comprising students of English/Literature in English currently in JSS 2 or students aged 10-13  and the senior category for students of English/Literature in English currently in SSS 2  or aged  15 – 17 years.

Adejumo-Bello added that 2,500 students are being expected and that participation in the summit, which will feature workshops on fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, screen and playwriting and songwriting is free. The best participant in each category would be given win N100, 000 while the best overall participant gets N250, 000 and free publishing of his/her literary work.

For Adejumo-Bello, the summit is important because Ibadan “is the crucible that produced Africa’s most celebrated writers and literacy icons. Ibadan as both a city and a cultural cum intellectual melting point produced Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, Odia Ofeimun, Amos Tutuola, Akinwunmi Ishola-and several others. Ibadan is endowed with an enviable literary ancestry but when was the last crop of global literary icons produced from the great Ibadan?

“There is a gap. A gaping hole between what was and what is and what could be. The legacy is progressively becoming a liability. When will the next Wole Soyinka, or the next Chinua Achebe or Niyi Osundare, Adebayo Faletibe produced?”