By Bisola Bello
The Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) has announced Friday, November 13 as kick-off for the 17th edition of the Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF).
Venue is Freedom Park on Broad Street, Marina, Lagos.
With the theme ‘Texts of Self- Determination’ the three-day festival will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of writer and environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was hanged by the Nigerian government on November 10, 1995.
Nigerian writers between the ages of 18 and 41 stand a chance of winning N100,000 if any of their reviews of any one of the five works of Saro-Wiwa is adjudged the best by the organisers.
A statement by CORA Secretary General, Toyin Akinosho, said the competition is opened to “those who were either not born, or were just teenagers or at most aged 21, at the time of the death of this Nigerian literary icon”.
Writers are expected to submit a review of not more than 1,000 words of either Sozaboy, A Forest of Flowers, Adaku and other Stories, Prisoners of Jebs, or a joint review of Basi and Company and Transistor Radio on or before 5pm on November 6, 2015.
Writers are to submit their entries for the prize to the chairman of the panel of judges, Toni Kan, who is the author of the Nights of the Creaking Bed.
Entries should be typewritten and sent to tonikan11@gmail.com, organisers say.
“The competition does three things, it serves to improve on the human infrastructure of reading; there cannot be a robust literary/literacy subculture, or a book market, without a vibrant review culture. The grounds on which conversations of culture stands, in the Nigerian arts landscape today, is shaky,” says CORA Programme Chairman, Jahman Anikulapo.
“It also helps to memorialise Mr Saro-Wiwa, to whom the theme of this year’s edition of the Festival is dedicated and finally, it is the foundation of CORA/LABAF Annual Literature Review contest.
“So much effort has been paid, by sundry sponsors, to writers of books and less to the infrastructure of reading. CORA fancies itself as a landscapist and as we have pioneered the idea of Book Festivals with programme content, as opposed to book fairs in the country, we also want to sow seeds in the area of getting whole communities, as opposed to writers alone, to share in the joy of reading,” Mr Anikulapo added.
The festival will feature book reviews, art exhibition, film screening and music jam sessions.
