The Second Coming of African Lit

When I think of the phrase "African literature," I immediately think of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, and Wole Soyinka's The Man Died. I think of Mongo Beti, Mariama Ba, Flora Nwapa, Bessie Head and Doris Lessing. They are all amazing writers whose books dealt with themes of identity and the struggle for liberation  and helped to define what in academia is known as Post-Colonial literature.

A lot of writers today are still dealing with those themes (I think of Uwem Akpan's short story collection Say You are One of Them or Chimamanda Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun, both of which deal with the subject of war),  I work in the publishing industry and I have been privileged to see the rise of a new kind of African literature. It's exciting, it's innovative and it's completely different from what's come before. On the surface, it seems uninterested in excessive seriousness; it seems to just wanna have fun.

I hear from a lot of people who sell books for a living that Africans don't read. It's more than the dismal literacy rates in many countries, though. Because when Africans do read, they don't read African authors. Instead they prefer to read romances, thrillers and fantasy books from Western authors.

A Pacesetter novel

I don't think this is because Africans disdain their own authors, I think the truth is that Africa doesn't seem to have its own form of popular literature. In the West, there's a divide between high and low culture, between opera and ballet, and country music and wrestling. In literature that divide shows up in the separation between those who read Phillip Roth and those who read Dan Brown. What we know as African literature is dominated by high culture writers published by the West, for the West. We don't have our own romances, thrillers or fantasies anymore.

In the 60s and 70s, when the Nigerian publishing industry was at its height, there were plenty of examples of popular literature. There was the Pacesetter series, short crime thrillers and romances that were immensely popular. In the East there was "Onitsha Market Literature" and the North had a thriving Hausa literature scene. Except for the Hausa literature market, most popular ventures collapsed when the publishing industry died under the strictures of military rule.

I think that's changing. I'm seeing is the emergence of African popular literature, romances, thrillers and sci-fi that cater to the popular imagination without being weighed down by "heavy" themes and what my people like to call "grammar."It's imperfect. A lot of it is still published in the west (like Mukoma Wa Ngugi's crime thriller Nairobi Heat) or self-published (like Ekene Onu's chick-lit romance The Mrs Club) or online only (like Biram Mboob's sci-fi thriller Harabella) and hasn't yet found its way to the masses.

But as economies improve, and the middle-class continues to rise, the demand will only grow. Already, publishers are returning to the continent and they are looking for ways to make money. Just as Nollywood has revived African popular cinema, one of them will come up with a series or will discover an author who will revive popular literature. It is only a matter of time.

Trust me, I'm a professional. I know.  

Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology now available

I joined Wagadu.com last year and found it to be a genial, welcoming place filled with incredibly talented, passionate people. They gave me a lot by way of support and I wanted to give a little something back, so when I heard that their first anthology was out, I wanted to spread the word.

Griots is the first anthology dedicated to sword and soul. Sword and Soul is a genre of speculative fiction that combines African traditions, history and culture with adventure, heroic fiction and sorcery - think Conan the Barbarian set in Ancient Ghana or the Empire of Mali. The volume is edited by Charles R. Saunders, author of Imaro, widely considered to be the creator of the genre, and author Milton Davis.

It features 28 of some of the most exciting writers and artists in speculative fiction today including Minister Faust, Geoffrey Thorne, Carole McDonnell, Valjeanne Jeffers and Ronald T. Jones. Some of the artists include Natiq Jalil, Luke McDonnell, Winston Blakely, Stan Weaver, Jr., Wanye Parker and Paul Davey.

Griots made its official debut last month at Onyx Con 3, one of the largest conventions of multi-cultural speculative fiction in the US. and is available on Amazon. I can't wait to pick up a copy and I hope you will too!

Also check out the Black Science Fiction Society, great people there too.

Things I know at 30

Me at 20

I turned 30 nearly a year ago, capping off what had been a tumultuous couple of years. Despite the crying fits and occasional bouts of suicidal depression, I realized that I had learned a lot in my more than a quarter decade of life. In particular, I was inspired by this piece on RealSimple.com.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers and there are still so many things I need to learn and experience, but I wanted to share some of the insights that have come to me the hard way. Hopefully, you’ll get something out of it too.

1. Pay attention to the warning signs and don’t try to talk yourself out of a gut feeling. Trust your judgement because chances are, your spirit is trying to tell you something important.

2. You’re smarter, prettier and far more capable than you give yourself credit for. Yeah, go ahead and wear that little red mini-skirt.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want; the worst they can say is no.

4. You will mess up and you will fail – sometimes epically – but it’s not your failure that will define you. It’s how you deal with it.

5. Don’t doubt your desires because they seem mundane or impossible, your dreams are always within reach.

6. You can’t change your parents, only how you react to them. Part of growing up is learning how to stop using their standards to judge your life. You’ll never feel true satisfaction until you define what success means for you.

7. Don’t let the fear of being single keep you in a relationship that isn’t working (or isn’t going to work). Heartbreak is painful, but it won’t kill you.

8. Stop comparing yourself to others or to the imagined ideal in your head. The quest for perfection can drive you for a while, but sooner or later you’re going to have to find your motivation within yourself.

9. Happiness isn’t something that will come once you’ve ticked all the boxes. It’s a choice you have to make every day. Like working out, you have to make the effort and commit to it.

10. Karma is one seriously mean bitch. She never forgets and in this life or the next she’ll make you pay. So stay on her good side.

11. You’ll be treated with the respect you command, not the respect you demand. So when appropriate, dress like a grownup, speak articulately, stand up straight and always look at the people you're talking to.

12. For most of us, the struggle to truly know ourselves is lifelong, but rest assured that you know more about your desires, your limits and your motivations than you did 10 years ago.

13. You know when he’s lying. It’s not logical, it’s not rational, but you know. What you choose to do with that knowledge is up to you.

14. Don’t be afraid to feel your emotions fully and deeply. Be aware of them at all times and work to head off bad moods as they begin. You're emotions are far more powerful than you think and feeling good about yourself is the essence of true success.

15. Take every opportunity to travel. It’ll be the one thing that you truly regret when you look back.

16. Anything that wearies your spirit is never right - that goes for jobs or people, and even places. Life is too short to settle for or put up with anything that drains you of your joy.

17. Get it done. Every day you put off doing what you need to do out of fear is another day in your fading youth that you will never get back.

18. Sex can be many things: damaging or liberating, exhilarating or dull, comforting or experimental, but it is never, ever casual.


How about you? What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? What do you wish you had known 20 years ago that you know now? Please don’t hesitate to add your piece of advice.

On Madness and Creativity

We all know the clichés, that there’s a thin line between love and hate, pain and pleasure, madness and creativity. Well, I suppose they’re all true. In particular, I feel that being a self-proclaimed “creative,” means one walks the line between madness and genius far too closely.

Today, I watched two TED videos that brought home this idea for me. In one, Joshua Walters a performer and stand up comic talked about what it was like to live with manic depression and the effect it had on his creative life. In another, JD Schramm talked about what it was like to have survived a suicide attempt. The two topics were not wholly unrelated.

When Walters was first diagnosed with the condition, he was committed to a psych ward for a time. There, he realized that many of his fellow patients were no different from performers rehearsing for a role. His point was that there was a spectrum between madness and genius and that more space should be made in society for people further along on the madness spectrum.

What he didn’t mention is that the other side of the mania is the crash. The depression that can take over one’s life and colour everything in it a darker shade of blue. While depression can happen to anyone, I would not be surprised if it turned out that more people who are dubbed creative or sensitive have higher rates of suicide and suicidal attempts. And I suppose that’s where the other video comes in.

JD Schramm was advocating that more resources be available to those who have attempted to take their own lives and failed. Himself a suicide survivor, JD noted that the silence that greets most suicide survivors is likely to make them try again. And 37% of those who attempt to kill themselves again will succeed.

Here in Nigeria, creatives must work much harder to stay true to their art. Many of them are already dealing with pressure from families and society to find “real jobs” or give up their “hobbies.” Many make painful financial and emotional sacrifices to do what they do. I’m not saying that creative people in Nigeria are more prone to suicide. What I’m saying is that those who are already fragile must walk the line between life and death after already having to struggle to practice their craft and in the culturally enforced silence that surrounds the subject of suicide.

We often hear that Nigerians don’t commit suicide. Like homosexuality, it doesn’t seem to exist. Well, we all know that isn’t true. What is true is that we don’t talk about it. When we do hear stories of suicide, the victims are portrayed as wicked or selfish, or worse, weak. There are few resources to help those struggling with suicidal impulses and little incentive for those who need it to seek it out.

Now, I’m not sure where I’m going with this, except to advocate for more emotional support for those in the creative arts. I realize I might be pandering to stereotypes, but for someone who lives more in the darkness that is depression than the light of mania, I know it can be tough going. Every time a suicide survivor makes it through a difficult day without giving in to the urge to end it all – no matter how fleeting the urge – is something to celebrate.  And whether our society privileges it or not, creative people bring a lot to the table, enriching our culture in ways we may never fully appreciate. So it’s in all our best interest if we can take advantage of the unique energy that comes with the mania while at the same time controlling the dark spiral that comes with the depression. 

NPR picks the top 100 sci-fi and fantasy books

In a welcome nod to speculative fiction, National Public Radio (NPR) had its readers nominate and vote on the top 100 science-fiction and fantasy books of all time. Over 60,000 people voted and it turns out that the Lord of the Rings series came out on top. Though I didn't like the books (I could never get past the first few chapters of the first book), I was glad that some of my other favourites did make the cut.

However, like a similar poll on Tor.com, I noticed there were very few women on the list. And come to think of it, I'm not sure there were any minorities of any gender at all. I realize that what we choose to revere is entire subjective. In a recent article on slate.com several writers, editors and bloggers challenged the legitimacy of even classic works. However, when readers, whom I assume come from all races, ethnicities and genders, seem to privilege the works of white men over all others, I have to start wondering what's going on.

Are we internalizing a certain bias towards the written works of one group of people over all others? Or are there just not enough minorities and women writing speculative fiction? If it's the former, then we all need to examine ourselves and our unconscious preferences. Go out and pick up a book by Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, Charles Saunders, Nalo Hopkinson or any of the numerous speculative writers of colour and begin opening your minds. But if it's the latter, then I and my fellow fantasy writers of colour need to get to work.

An Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Most awesome thing ever...

I apologize for not keeping up with updates for the last few months. A combination of factors (work, lack of internet access at home, etc.) have conspired to keep me from my blogging duties.

However I came across this announcement and I knew I just needed to share:

Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction To Be Published Online, With Text Available Free
The third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the definitive reference work in the field, will be released online later this year by the newly-formed ESF, Ltd, in association with Victor Gollancz, the SF & Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, whose support will enable the text to be available free to all users. This initial "beta" version, containing about three-quarters of the total projected content, will be unveiled in conjunction with Gollancz's celebrations of its 50th anniversary as a science fiction publisher.

The first edition of the Encylopedia, whose founder and general editor was Peter Nicholls, appeared in 1979, and contained over 700,000 words. A second edition, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, appeared in 1993 and contained over 1.3 million words. Both editions won the Hugo Award from the World Science Fiction Convention, in addition to numerous other honours.

The beta version of the third edition will contain some 3 million words, including about 12,000 entries and well over 100,000 internal links. The entries cover every area of science fiction, including authors, illustrators, movies, music, games, and fanzines. The text will be completed, through monthly updates, by the end of 2012.

The third edition has been produced by editors John Clute and David Langford, Editor Emeritus Peter Nicholls, and Managing Editor Graham Sleight. Contributing Editors for the third edition include Mike Ashley on magazines, Paul Barnett on artists and illustrators, Jonathan Clements on all aspects of Japanese and Chinese SF, Nick Lowe on movies, Abigail Nussbaum on television, John Platt on comics, and Adam Roberts on music. During the Encyclopedia's development, the project has been supported by Clare Coney as Technical Editor, Roger Robinson as Research Editor, John Lifton-Zoline, and Pamela Lifton-Zoline. Robert Kirby of United Agents, The Bookseller's Literary Agent of the Year 2011, represents the Encyclopedia.

On behalf of Gollancz, Orion Deputy CEO and Group Publisher Malcolm Edwards commented: "We're delighted to have been able to facilitate the online publication of this monumental and definitive work – more than ever the single, reliable reference source which anyone interested in SF needs. As a contributing editor to that long-ago first edition, it's a particular pleasure to me to have been able to play a part in making this happen."

Anyone interested in signing up for the latest news on the project can do so at www.sf-encyclopedia.com. The Encyclopedia is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sf-Encyclopedia/138995776178949 and on Twitter at @SFEncyclopedia.

For general enquiries, please contact grahamsleight@gmail.com

For rights enquiries, please contact Charlotte Knee at United Agents, cknee@unitedagents.co.uk

For Gollancz enquiries, please contact jonathan.weir@orionbooks.co.uk

First of all, who knew there was an entire encyclopedia on Science Fiction? Is that awesome or what? I'll keep you all posted on how things go with the project.

Building a better person

Can becoming a better person make you a better writer? I sincerely hope so.

Building character takes patience, discipline, introspection and independence of thought. I believe that these same behaviours and attitudes are also required to move a writer beyond mere talent.

Patience is the ability to wait for results that can only be had after a long difficult period of effort, and it is required if one wants to be a good writer and an effective person. Patience is essential to the craft of writing. It can take a long time for a character to emerge, for plotlines to come together and for a setting to take firm shape in one’s head. It also takes a lot of time to refine and polish a work to its highest quality. And it may take a long time – sometimes a lifetime – to find the right audience for one’s work. If a writer does not acquire the ability to absorb a great deal of trouble without losing self-control, when things cock up – as they inevitably will – they can easily give in to despair. The most successful people understand patience, they don’t lose hope or blow up or cave in, when things didn’t go according to plan.

Discipline is the acquired habit of expending energy, of forgoing lesser pleasures of the now for the greater good of the future. It is required to move forward in any endeavour. Studies show that children who can delay gratification, who can keep from eating the sweet in front of them if they know that by waiting they can get two more, are more successful. They get better grades in school, have more successful careers and healthier relationships. Discipline is also the bedrock of the craft of writing. It’s not easy to sit down in front of a blank screen every day, but if you don’t write, you can’t call yourself a writer. It’s really that simple.

Introspection is the ability to look inside oneself in order to understand one’s purpose and values. This is not easy, that is why most of us avoid it when we can. The risks of finding things we do not like are too great. However, the most well-rounded people are those who understand and accept themselves; those who are comfortable in their own skin. They know who they are and what they stand for, and it makes them stronger. The craft of writing also requires introspection. One has to be able to accurately map out one’s inner terrain so that it can be mined for stories and characters. Introspection taken too far can lead to brooding melancholia, but understanding one’s impulses is essential if one is to write good characters. Because how can you write others when you cannot write yourself?

Independence of thought, letting go of the fear of what others will think, is both the trickiest and the most important part of building character. It is the beginning of freedom. In Nigeria, our culture assigns an inordinate amount of value to material success -- even over ethical integrity. In many ways, it is less important how you made your money, only that you have it. But character requires that you put your values above the vagaries of other’s expectations. That you take the time to do your own thinking and come up with your own standards. There will be no shortage of people who will try to tell you what to do, what is important and who to be. The challenge of a successful character is blocking out those voices to find what is important to you, then marshalling the courage to do what you feel is right. Because the craft of writing is so rarely commercially successful, those who choose it as their primary profession, have to be prepared to walk against the tide of public opinion – especially in a culture as materialistic as our own. But every writer at some point, made the conscious decision to dedicate themselves to their craft. There is no other way.

I haven’t had internet access at home for the last month, and it gave me time to do a lot of thinking, though perhaps not a great deal of sustained thinking. Now, the rains have started and the world has been washed of its layers of dry season dust, and I’ve come to realize that seeking to develop good character will give me the perspective I need to put my craft at the forefront of my life. No more procrastinating on the important things. Understanding my values can come learning from the wisdom of the ancients, which means reading what they have passed down. More reading can only make one a better writer. Finally, freeing myself of the anxiety of other’s perceptions will allow me to submit my stories to journals and readers more often. I will now be able to hear the constructive feedback without the sound of my worrisome inner voice.

But it all begins with the willingness to do the hard work in the here and now. And while I don’t believe I will ever be able to wake up and declare my work is over, I do hope that as I get older, I will have given myself the tools to become a better, more competent person. Because having a good character is more important than anything else and is the ultimate arbiter of one’s success.
When I go, I want to be able to say that I made a difference in the lives of others. It’s really all that matters, in the end.