3rd World Consciousness, 1st World Efficiency

Wooden wreath courtesy spiritboutique.com

It’s been a rewarding year for Cassava Republic and we would like to share our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who supported us in the last 12 months. We look forward to an exciting new year as we roll out new publications, take on new authors and bring out new programs and services to get Nigeria reading.

We will be closing our offices from Friday, 21 December, 2012, to January 7, 2013. In the meantime, stop by our shop at 62b, Arts and Crafts Village, Opposite Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, between 10 am and 7 pm. We will be open throughout the holiday period except for Dec. 25 and Dec. 26, 2012.

Pick up a copy of your favourite Cassava book this season and gift it to a loved one, then pre-order any of our upcoming publications by sending an email to: [email protected].

It’s going to be a great 2013 and we hope that you can share it with us!

Cassava Republic at the Swedish Embassy on Monday.

Yesterday, we were excited to attend a panel discussion on Creative Storytelling in Nigeria organised by the Swedish Embassy in Abuja. Attendees discussed new ways of telling stories to children and examined the ways in which children’s literature in Nigeria still needed improvement.

Some of the complaints were that there aren’t enough high-quality children’s books being published, not enough writers writing these books for children and not enough places for parents to access these books when they do exist. While there are a host of reasons why good children’s books are hard to find,  I believe the root of the problem lies in one simple fact: Most Nigerians don’t read for pleasure.

This is not unique to Nigeria. Publishers in Brazil and Zimbabwe complain of the same thing. In Brazil the problem is one of language. Written Portuguese is very different from its spoken version and often unfamiliar to readers. While in Zimbabwe, a sagging economy and harsh political realities have dealt a blow to middle-class consumers. Despite the country’s high literacy rates, many readers can no longer afford to buy books. But Nigeria has no language barrier and our economy, while still in dire straits, has been growing steadily over the last decade.

However, even those Nigerians who can afford books don’t buy them. Nigerians are some of the top spenders in countries like the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and India. However, most of what these spenders purchase are luxury items such as bags, shoes, jewellery and clothes.

I think this is because most of us do not think of reading as fun. As children, reading was something you did when you needed to study for an exam or write a book report. Many of our parents did not read to us when we were children and most of us did not have access to a library of books – either in our houses or in our communities. Even if you did have a library in your school, chances are there were few fiction books in it – and certainly none you could borrow and take home.

This lack of demand pulls down the whole industry. The quality of Nigerian literature has declined because people who don’t read for pleasure don’t make very good writers. The production of fiction books by Nigerian publishers has also declined because there is no point in publishing a book if no one will buy it.

If the demand for fiction rises, though, like a ship rising with the tide, all other aspects of the industry will improve. Investors who see money in selling popular fiction to Nigerians will do so. And as more companies start selling these books, the inevitable competition among them will improve the quality of the books they sell. The quality of writing will also improve as writers, in a bid to get published in a competitive industry, spend more time on their craft.

So raise the demand by going out and buying a book of fiction today. Or even better, buy a book for the child in your life. As we age it becomes more difficult to change our habits, and if you haven’t been much of a reader, chances are you’ll have a tough time becoming one. Luckily, it won’t be that hard for your children. Start by buying children’s books and reading to them when they are young. Keep up the habit by getting them books they’ll enjoy as they get older.

Of course, this isn’t a panacea. Reading regularly for pleasure may not be able to do much to improve the nation’s education standards or its infrastructure – that’s the government’s job. But parents whose children are readers will demand more from their schools and teachers. They and their children will be better informed, quicker to question their leaders and harder to hoodwink. In that scenario, it’s not just literature in Nigeria that will improve, everything will.

One of the first questions authors often ask publishers is how safe their intellectual property will be in their hands. In Nigeria, this question often comes up even before an author hands over their manuscript for review – long before the manuscript is even accepted for publication.

Browsing pirated books on display in Lagos. Picture by Ololade Adewuyi

I think one of the reasons why this is such a concern for authors has to do with our country’s atrocious record on copyright protection. It is depressingly common to see piles of pirated books and CDs being sold on street corners and in marketplaces. Each item is a violation of someone’s intellectual property rights and none of the money being made on these goods is going back to the creator. This is why many creatives like musicians, actors and writers often find themselves extremely popular but financially poor. They aren’t the ones earning money on their own creations.

Even the media can be guilty of violating copyrights. Often newspapers, radio and television stations will use material without properly attributing their sources or getting the necessary permissions. This is usually due to lack of awareness, but sometimes it can be a deliberate attempt to avoid paying royalties or permission fees.

According to author Tunde Oyesina there are many factors contributing to the poor copyright climate in the country, including poor enforcement and a lack of public awareness. Many of the pirates don’t think they’re doing anything wrong – most argue that it’s just “business”. In addition, cases of copyright infringement are notoriously difficult to pursue at every level – from identifying and arresting the culprits to seeing cases through the glacial pace of our judiciary.

This reality has forced the creative industry in Nigeria to adopt its own fail-safes. Artists and actors often prefer to be paid large sums up front. Musicians make most of their money through live shows where they can get a cut of entrance fees. Writers would rather gather their savings and self-publish their work, than trust a faceless publisher. Even movie makers are getting creative – engaging some of the largest and most prolific pirates as their informal distributors.

The truth is that Nigeria actually has well-articulated copyright laws on its books. The problem, Oyesina concludes, is our mindset:

To effectively protect creative works generated by the entertainment industry, the government must address the widely held belief that intellectual property protection is a Western concept irrelevant in Africa.

Until then, there’s little we creatives can do little beyond demanding our rights, and acting with integrity to protect the rights and intellectual property of others.

Chika Unigwe courtesy Bubbles FM

The Nigeria Prize for literature has just announced the winner of its 2012 prize: “On Black Sister’s Street” by Chika Unigwe.

The prize is one of Nigeria’s leading prizes for literature and has a cash value of US$100, 000. Unigwe emerged from a field of over 214 entries, the largest number received since the prize was inaugurated in 2004, according to organisers.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, the organisers of the prize praised Unigwe’s book as “display[ing] a very sophisticated narrative technique.”

Last year Adeleke Adeyemi (writing under the pseudonym Mai Nasara) won the prize for his children’s book “The Missing Clock”.

The shorlisted nominees included two Cassava Republic authors: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s “I Do Not Come to You by Chance” and “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives” by Lola Shoneyin.

We want to say a big congratulations to Ms. Unigwe and all the best.

Disagreements between authors and publishers are as old as the printing press. Authors concerned about the fidelity of their craft often feel that publishers are too eager to distort their material for commercial appeal. While publishers often complain that authors don’t understand the delicate balance between artistic concerns and their primary business of selling books. Then there’s the perennial problem of marketing where authors often feel their publishers are doing too little while publishers feel authors demand too much.

No matter how heated these arguments got, though, it was understood that neither party was to take these disagreements public. An author could complain to friends and family and publishing professionals might trade stories during a book fair or a conference, but these conversations would rarely enter the public realm.

Enter the social media age and what may have once been a private conversation between friends or colleagues can now take on the gravitas of a global declaration. True some authors’ are taking their complaints public to force changes in the industry. And some talented authors have made successful media personas out of being “uncompromising.” But I believe that there are more drawbacks than advantages to airing your dirty publishing linen on the world stage.

Part of the problem is that a lot of authors don’t always realise just how large their audiences are. As business educator, Eddie Obeng notes, the internet has made every company with a website a global corporation. So it goes with people. Anyone with a profile on a social media site is the equivalent of a mini-celebrity. This means that no matter what you say, there’s always someone listening. And it could well be the person who has the power to decide your next publication.

As the internet has given publishers more ways to find talent, the chances for an author to find a home at a “legacy publisher” have grown smaller. Even micro publishers are swamped with more manuscripts than they can hope to evaluate in a timely manner. So anything an author can do to stand out can be to their advantage. But an author who has gained a reputation for slagging his or her publishers – or even for slagging other authors – should be careful. More publishers are taking author’s temperaments into consideration alongside their writing talent. There are so many talented writers out there that few publishers want the headache of working with a diva – no matter how good their work is.

The same is true for publishers. If enough authors complain about a publisher’s practices – lower-than-average royalties, slow publication times, or poor editing – it could affect the quality (if not the quantity) of manuscripts that are submitted to them. The best authors and their agents will go elsewhere.

So I think it’s prudent to remember that while social media is a great marketing and communications tool, it has its unique limitations. It shouldn’t take the place of more private correspondence like email or phone calls. Remember: if it’s not something you’d want the world to see (and remember forever because internet content never really dies) don’t put it out there.

By the end of the twentieth-century Lagos had become established as one of the world’s pre-eminent fictionalized cities, as with London and Paris by the end of the previous century.”

– Prof. Chris Dunton, National University of Lesotho (2005)

“When people go to Johannesburg, they never come back”

– Rev. Stephen Kumalo in Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country (1948)

As part of the Nigeria-South Africa Week holding in Lagos in the first week of October, theCommittee for Relevant Art (CORA) presents two literary events of the ‘Week’ tagged ‘A Tale of 2 African Cities – LasGidi and Jozi in the Imagination’. CORA is collaborating with Inspiro productions and the South African Consulate, Lagos on the events.

EVENT 1:
Thursday 4th October, 2012 at Freedom Park, Lagos; 5pm

Author Conversation: The cities of LAGOS and JOHANNESBURG are the undoubted commercial and cultural capitals of their respective countries, and of sub-saharan Africa. In this event, four writers active in one or the other of the two cities hold conversation on how the cities affect and is reflected in their works. These are Nigeria’s TONI KAN and JUMOKE VERISSIMO and South Africa’sSIPHIWO MAHALA and KGEBETLI MOELE. The literary activist and social entrepreneur ANWULI OJOGWU will moderate the conversation.

EVENT 2:
Friday 5th October, 2012 at the poolside, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island; 7pm.

Poetry Reading/Performance and Wine-tasting: This is part of the wine-tasting event billed for that evening and will celebrate not just the two cities, but the countries in which they play such important cultural roles as well as African fraternity generally. Among the poets proposed for that evening are Ayodele Arigbabu, Samuel Osaze, Toni Kan and Jumoke Verissimo.

Contemporary African Art has been on the brink of rebirth for a while. With artists such as El Anatsui, Victor Ekpuk, Ndidi Dike, Romuald Hazoume and Owusu Ankomah,and galleries like the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, art from West Africa is reaching far beyond decorative confines to explore new forms of expression.

Meanwhile, art from South Africa is already an explosion of provocation and considered reflection on the experiences of our collective present. Pieter Hugo’s gothic photographs on Nollywood a few years ago were a signal that South was eager to consider West.

It is therefore fitting that the continent begins a more in-depth conversation with itself about the future of art in Africa.

In celebration of contemporary art across the continent, an exhibition – SPace – was held in Jo’burg in July 2010. SPace featured 25 artists, 4 art collectives and 6 writers whose work provided creative and intellectual dialogue, which in personal and intimate ways animates imaginative and reflective engagement with social matters and human experiences in contemporary Africa and the Diaspora.

Contributors include Simon Njami, Abebe Zegeye, Bettina Malcomess, Jimmy Ogonga, Raphael Chikukwa and Monica Arac de Nyeko.

Some of the featured artists include Willem Boshoff, Berni Searle, Barthélémy Toguo, Berry Bickle, Mary Sibande, David Koloane, Godfried Donker, Nandipha Mntambo, Dominique Zinkpé, Miriam Syowia Kyambi and Billie Zangewa. Collectives include El Hassan Echair and Imad Mansour of Collectif 212, Gugulective, Avant Car Guard and Chimurenga.

As with our pan-African collaboration with Chimurenga (South Africa) and Kwani? (Kenya) earlier this year to produce the imaginary newspaper – The Chimurenga Chronicle – Cassava Republic Press is delighted to continue to collaborate with other African publishers to publish SPace in Nigeria in a limited edition.

Download a promotional extract here.

Our very own Lola Shoneyin, poet and author of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives will be heading a poetry workshop at this year’s Storymoja Hay Festival in Nairobi.

According to its website, the Storymoja Hay Festival is one of 15 festivals Hay Festivals which takes place across five continents and is dedicated to bringing writers, artists and intellectuals together for intelligent conversations around books, the environment, politics and human rights issues. The program will be held from the 13^th to the 16^th of September.

Other featured writers include Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans, Dinaw Mengestu, Ethiopian-born American author of Children of the Revolution, Giles Foden, Professor of Creative Writing at UEA, UK and author of The Last King of Scotland, Precious Williams, author of the memoir Precious, Billy Kahora, author and editor of Kwani? magazine, Muthoni Garland, author of Tracking the Scent of My Mother, NoViolet Bulawayo, winner of the Caine prize in 2011, Michael Logan, author of Apocalypse Cow, which won the Terry Pratchett Prize, and many, many others.

The Storymoja Hay Festival, now in its fourth year, will be held in the historic National Museum of Kenya. There will be music from the Kenyan Boys Choir, who sang at Obama’s inauguration, and a Poetry Gala with Lemn Sissay. It promises to be a blast. We wish we could be there.

Check out this great review of Christie Watson’s Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by activist and blogger Ekine Sokari:

If literature represents a nation’s consciousness, that is, an awakening, then the Niger Delta has finally begun to seep into the minds of Nigerians: Ayo Akinfe’s “Fueling the Delta Fires”, Helon Habila’s “Oil on Water”, the yet unpublished graphic novel, “Light Sweet Crude”, a collaboration between Kenneth Coker and Chris Feliciano Arnold; and Christie Watson’s, “Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away”.

Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away is many stories which dance around one central story. Rather like an English maypole where dancers perform circle dances whilst they move in a circle. A little complicated with occasional dizzying junctures which destabilize the center. At the center is the narrator, 12-year old Blessing. Around her is her family: parents, sibling and grandparents; and outside them, the people who live, work and struggle in the Niger Delta.

Read the complete review here. And for more writing by Ekine, visit her blog at: http://www.blacklooks.org

Grab your copy of Tiny Sunbirds today, visit our website: www.cassavarepublic.biz for a full list of outlets.

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have brought people together in unprecedented ways. In literary circles authors can get directly in touch with their fans, other authors and even their reviewers. This has been an amazing advantage for writers. By responding to fan messages, chatting on blogs and forums, and generally establishing personal contact, many of them have been able to create and grow fan bases for their work.

But as critic Jacob Silverman notes in his article on Slate.com, this personal connection can have its drawbacks. For as literary circles – writers, editors, reviewers and fans – become ever more tightly bound through their social networks, it is becoming harder to offer honest feedback.

Silverman uses the example of Emma Straub, an author who, through her generous, funny and kind persona on Twitter, has garnered a following of over 9,000 users. He notes:

…let’s say you’re part of this web of writers, fiction-lovers, literary editors, and readers in the social-media world and you’re assigned a review of Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures. What if you don’t like it? Or what if you like it, but not unreservedly? Are you willing to say so? Would you be willing to critique Straub’s novel after watching her life scroll out on social media over the last year—indeed, after likely being the recipient or admirer of some small word or act of kindness on Straub’s part?

I agree with Silverman that there is a danger that the tight-knit social networks that nurture literary circles can become worlds unto themselves. Small acts of criticism or disapproval can take on magnified proportions. I call it the Facebook Echo Chamber and I believe it is distorting our sense of what is considered good literature.

Silverman puts it better:

…if you spend time in the literary Twitter – or blogospheres, you’ll be positively besieged by amiability, by a relentless enthusiasm that might have you believing that all new books are wonderful and that every writer is every other writer’s biggest fan. It’s not only shallow, it’s untrue, and it’s having a chilling effect on literary culture, creating an environment where writers are vaunted for their personal biographies or their online followings rather than for their work on the page.

In Nigeria this “echo chamber” effect is complicated by the fact that there is no real structure for objective, professional literary criticism. Literature professors and students who may have the knowledge and background to do it rarely review commercial literature. There are very few literary journals, and newspaper reviews are normally written by enthusiastic reporters or laypeople who are often personal friends of the authors. This is further complicated by the patronage networks that undergird all of Nigerian society. An enthusiastic review of a mediocre book written by an important personality can go a long way – and you want to be careful who you offend in case they become “somebody” tomorrow.

Don’t get me wrong, writers and their critics have always had complicated, often personal, relationships. And many of literature’s most famous feuds began with a scathing review – or two. But we cannot deny the poor quality of much of the literature being produced in Nigeria. Part of it is our poor education system and our lack of a reading culture, but another part of it is that our standards are so low. We don’t really know what constitutes good Nigerian literature.

If we want to improve the quality of our literature, we need to improve the quality of our criticism. This means stepping beyond the Facebook Echo Chamber. It means having more knowledgeable reviewers who are willing to set aside personal considerations and tell authors the truth about their work. It’s going to be hard and those who are its pioneers may initially be shunned as malcontents and party poopers. But I don’t see any other way.

I’m not advocating harsh put-downs or personal attacks; such reviews are more likely to discourage than improve. But I am saying that we need to step back and be more objective. If an author’s work is objectively sub-par, and 99% of his or her cheerful and enthusiastic social network were just too polite to tell the truth, while the remaining 1% who didn’t want to falsely praise it simply chose to say nothing, then that author will never get a true reflection of the work’s worth. And, as far as I am concerned, that does no one any favours.