Yippee!!!

From this week’s Children’s Bookshelf (over on the right where these things are reported):

Karen Lotz at Candlewick Press has acquired world rights to Monica Edinger’s Africa Is My Home. The book, 10 years in the making, is a fictional rendering of Amistad captive Sarah Margru Kinson’s journey from Africa to America and back, told in scrapbook format. Edinger, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, is now a teacher at the Dalton School in New York City, and writes the Educating Alice blog. Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media was the agent.

The Baobab Prize: An African Literary Award

Just saw this on child_lit and thought I’d pass it on.

August 2009 – This month marks the launch of the second annual Baobab Prize, an international literary award established to encourage the writing of African literature for young readers. Issuing a statement to commemorate the launch of the prize, co-founder and director of the prize Ghanaian Deborah Ahenkorah said, “The success of our inaugural year gives us confidence as we launch today. We received entries from nine African countries and our participating writers ranged in age from eleven to sixty-four years. It is clear that the Baobab Prize is here to stay and to revolutionize African literature as we know it.”

The Baobab Prize annually invites entries of unpublished African short stories written for audiences either 8-11 years or 12-15 years. This year the prize will award $1,000 to the best story in each category and $800 to the most promising young writer (18 years and below). Also all short listed stories will be considered for possible publishing. The Baobab Prize is open to African citizens of all ages. Deadline for submission is April 15, 2010.

Rama Shagaya, Senegalese co-founder of the prize says, “the mission of the Baobab Prize is to identify the literary giants of the next generation and produce classic stories that will be appreciated for years to come. This year, we want to challenge African writers to unleash their imagination. Tell us a story we’ve never heard before. A winning story this year will be a story that stands out.”

The winners of the inaugural year of the Baobab Prize were Lauri Kubuitsile from Botswana with Lorato and her Wire Car, the best story written for readers aged 8-11 years; Ivor W. Hartmann from Zimbabwe with Mr. Goop, the best story written for readers aged 12-15 years and Aisha Kibwana from Kenya, the most promising young writer with Strange Visitors that took her Life Away.

The Baobab Prize has lofty dreams about the future of African literature. It envisions that in ten years bookstores all over the world will be brimming with top quality African stories written for children.

The Baobab Prize was founded in July 2008. Two top stories from its inaugural year have been picked up for publishing in Africa. This literary award is made possible with funds provided by Bryn Mawr College, The Global Fund for Children and members of the Baobab Prize administrative team.

Contact: Deborah Ahenkorah    Email: baobabprize@gmail.com

Website at http://baobabprize.googlepages.com

Alexander McCall Smith on Reader Needs and Demands

It can be very inhibiting for an author if he or she knows that what happens in fiction is going to be taken so seriously. I write serial novels in newspapers and have learned the hard way that people will readily attribute the views expressed by characters to their authors. In one of my “Scotland Street” novels a character called Bruce, a rather narcissistic young man, made disparaging remarks about his hometown. Although these were not the views I hold about that particular town, I was roundly taken to task, with the local member of the Scottish Parliament suggesting that I should be forced to apologize to the offended citizens. I pointed out that these were the views of a fictional character, who was just the type to make such remarks. That did not help.

It was very timely for me to come across this Alexander McCall Smith’s WSJ essay, “Lost in Fiction“  because, after seeing the excellent first episode of HBO’s No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, I had a hankering for the books and picked up the latest.  High class comfort reading,  I think.

Writing About Africa

Jon Evans, author of Night of Knives (evidently a thriller set in Africa which I haven’t read) wonders  “Why shouldn’t I write about Africa? “ Since I too am writing about Africa, this interested me. However, I think there are different approaches to this and I can’t say if his —- having not read his book — is a good one or not.  For a good wake-up call read the essay he cites, “How to Write About Africa” by Binyavanga Wainaina.

The Libraries of Timbuktu

Several decades ago I sat in Mopti, Mali while two of my friends were stuck in Timbuktu waiting out a sandstorm. I had chosen not to go, a decision I’ve since regretted. At the time it seemed too far for too little; the place itself was not suppose to be that interesting compared to Mopti and other places in Africa I’d been. The reason to go was to say one had done so, one had been to that fabled place that was as far away as could be.

Today Timbuktu is getting long overdue attention for something else, for its incredible libraries. And fortunately the owners of these libraries are getting help saving them. Africa’s Literary Treasure Trove: The Rush to Save Timbuktu’s Crumbling Manuscripts – International – SPIEGEL ONLINE – New

(via bookninja)

Matt Harding

Thanks to Graceanne who reminded me of this guy. I first read about him (probably the last to know) in this New York Times article. But I just checked out his website and now I’m really impressed. Why? Because I read his posts from Mali and Morocco and really liked the way he considered the moral issues that come up in his travels. Here’s something he wrote after doing a dancing clip with some kids in Morocco.

Afterwards, I faced a moral dilemma that is very common in Africa. The kids wanted money. I agree with the notion that handing money out to kids is a bad idea, as it creates beggars. If I’d simply ignored them, there would be no issue. But I’d invited them to join me. To boot, they were great dancers. They still wanted money, and I had a little bit of change handy, so I obliged.

To keep them from pouncing once they saw what I was holding, and also to prevent the biggest and strongest kids from grabbing everything, I threw the change up in the air. It seemed smart at the time, and it sort of worked, but there was also an air of degradation. It felt icky. Melissa, standing nearby through it all, got a sudden and overwhelming dose of what Africa is like. Even the best intentions turn out icky.

She was troubled. For a moment, while it was processing, she was a little upset at me. But what, exactly, was the right thing to do?

It would be unwise of me to dwell on this subject, but yes, what I’m doing has a large commercial aspect to it. The word ‘exploitation’ hovers over everything. Whatever is going through your head right now, please understand that I have considered it. The dancing video is something very simple, but it’s also complex. It’s sort of a moral prism; you can look through any facet and see it a different way. Suffice it to say, while I’m not a religious person, I am freakishly moral. I believe this video is, ultimately, a good. And it’s only a good if that’s how I make it.

Celebrity Do-Gooders

In our celebrity culture where news is as often gotten from The Daily Show as from any more traditional source, the issue of do-gooding celebrities is complicated. In an interesting article in the National Interest on the issue, David W. Drezner points out how far more successful Gore has been as a celebrity than as a more conventional politician while also noting that not all look favorably on celebrity involvement.

Development expert William Easterly has argued that the celebrity focus on Africa’s problems has been misguided. By focusing exclusively on the diseases of sub-Saharan Africa, celebrities have unwittingly tarnished an entire continent: “[Africans are] not helpless wards waiting for actors and rock stars to rescue them.” Many African officials and activists share this sentiment, even heckling Bono at a development conference.

I’ve written here and here before about my feelings about celebrities and Africa. It still feels churlish to complain yet too often the result is not a better understanding of the issues, of the continent, or even better help. I’m not sure Drezner’s article changed my feelings, but it certainly gave me plenty to think about.

Learning About Africa: That Africa; This Africa

Here’s a personal essay I wrote for the papertiger’s website.

Learning about Africa: Seventh in a Series

I’ve written here and here about the way Africa has become the continent du jour. Now here’s Julius Lester’s take on the seemingly never-ending trend for celebrity adoption of African orphans.

Learning about Africa: Fourth in a Series

Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray alerted me to Vanity Fair’s special issue on Africa. I’m of two minds about it.

On the one hand (or mind) it does reinforce my previous post on Africa being the hot continent du jour. Looking through the Table of Contents, I see a lot of articles from the point of view of outsiders — Bono, Christopher Hitchens, Brad Pitt, Sebastian Junger, and Bill Clinton to name a few. And let’s not forget Madonna; Punch Hutton has a very kind piece about her work in Malawi, “Raising Malawi: Madonna Lends a Hand.” Having not yet read the other articles, I can’t speak for the other outsiders, but this one on Madonna? Simplistic, glowing, and you’d never know that some did not think so highly of Madonna and her efforts in Malawi. Chimanada Ngozi Adichie, for one. Check out the Orange Prize winner’s interview, “Madonna’s not our saviour” for an insider’s perspective on all these outsiders. (Thanks to Linda Lowe for the link.)

On the other hand (or mind), I do appreciate the in-depth articles in Vanity Fair and assume there are plenty in this issue. And maybe, just maybe some readers of this issue will decide to learn more. That is always a good thing, isn’t it?