Africa39 was a collaborative project initiated by the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

in partnership with Rainbow Book Club, celebrating

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Book Capital The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out acti ...

2014 by identifying 39 of the most promising writers under the age of 40 with the potential and talent to define trends in the development of literature from Africa and the African diaspora."Imagine the World"
Africa39, Hay Festival. Launched in 2014, Africa39 followed the success of two previous Hay Festival initiatives linked to World Book Capital cities,

Bogotá39 Bogotá39 was a collaborative project between the Hay Festival and Bogotá: UNESCO World Book Capital City 2007 in order to identify 39 of the most promising Latin American writers under the age of 39. The judges for the contest were three Colombia ...

(2007) and

Beirut39 Beirut39 is a collaborative project between the Hay Festival, Beirut UNESCO's World Book Capital 2009 celebrations, '' Banipal'' magazine and the British Council among others in order to identify 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age ...

(2009). The judges for Africa39 were

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

Osonye Tess Onwueme Osonye Tess Onwueme, also known as T. Akaeke Onwueme (born 8 September 1955) is a Nigerian playwright, scholar and poet, who rose to prominence writing plays with themes of social justice, culture, and the environment. In 2010, she became the unive ...

and

Elechi Amadi Elechi Amadi (12 May 1934 – 29 June 2016) was a Nigerian author and soldier. He was a former member of the Nigerian Armed Forces. He was an author of plays and novels that are generally about African village life, customs, beliefs, and religi ...

, selecting from submissions researched by Binyavanga Wainaina. The writers' names were announced at the

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and d ...

on 8 April 2014. An anthology entitled ''Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara'', featuring work by the 39 selected writers, was published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

in October 2014, edited by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey and with a preface by Nobel Laureate

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

. Containing excerpts from published novels and works-in-progress as well as complete short stories, according to Stephanie Santana's review: "It is an anthology that refuses to be a thematic container for, or a survey of, new African writing. Instead, it is a truly 'plural text' with many entrances, exits, and detours."

The list

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born Grace Ngozi Adichie; 15 September 1977) is a Nigerians, Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, poem, and children's books; she is also a book reviewer and literary critic. Her most famous works include ''Purple ...

(

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

) * Richard Ali A Mutu (

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

) * Monica Arac de Nyeko (

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

) * Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria) * Eileen Barbosa (

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

) * A. Igoni Barrett (Nigeria) * Jackee Budesta Batanda (Uganda) * Recaredo Silevo Boturu (

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

) * Nana Brew-Hammond (

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

/ US) * Shadreck Chikoti (

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

) *

Edwige-Renée Dro Edwige-Renée Dro (born 1980s) is a writer, translator and literary activist from Côte d'Ivoire. She is co-founder of the literature collective Abidjan Lit. Career In 2014, Edwige-Renée Dro was named as one of those chosen for the Africa39 proj ...

(

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

) *

Tope Folarin Tope Folarin (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American writer and executive director of the Institute for Policy Studies. He won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story "Miracle". In April 2014 he was named in the Hay Festival's Af ...

(Nigeria/US) * Clifton Gachagua (

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

) * Stanley Gazemba (Kenya) * Mehul Gohil (Kenya) *

Hawa Jande Golakai Hawa Jande Golakai (born June 1, 1979) is a Liberian writer and clinical scientist. In 2014 she was chosen as one of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40, showcased in the Africa39 project and included in the antho ...

(

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

) * Shafinaaz Hassim (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) * Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Nigeria) *

Stanley Onjezani Kenani Stanley Onjezani Kenani (born in 1976) is a Malawian writer of poetry and short stories.Profile
from 11 ...

(Malawi/

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) *

Dinaw Mengestu Dinaw Mengestu (ዲናው መንግስቱ) (born 30 June 1978) is an Ethiopian American novelist and writer. In addition to three novels, he has written for ''Rolling Stone'' on the war in Darfur, and for '' Jane Magazine'' on the conflict in north ...

(

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

/US) * Nadifa Mohamed (

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

/ UK) * Nthikeng Mohlele (South Africa) * Linda Musita (Kenya) * Sifiso Mzobe (South Africa) *

Glaydah Namukasa Glaydah Namukasa is a Ugandan writer"Women writin ...

(Uganda) * Kioko Ndinda (Kenya) * Okwiri Oduor (Kenya) * Ukamaka Olisakwe (Nigeria) *

Ondjaki Ndalu de Almeida (born July 5, 1977) is a writer born in Angola who uses the pen name Ondjaki. He has written poetry, children's books, short stories, novels, drama and film scripts. Career Ondjaki studied sociology at the University of Luanda ...

(

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) *

Chibundu Onuzo Imachibundu Oluwadara Onuzo (born 1991) is a Nigerian novelist. Her first novel, ''The Spider King's Daughter'', won a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize, and was longlisted for the Des ...

(Nigeria) *

Nii Ayikwei Parkes Nii Ayikwei Parkes (; born 1 April 1974), born in the United Kingdom to parents from Ghana, where he was raised, is a performance poet, writer, publisher and sociocultural commentator. He is one of 39 writers aged under 40 from sub-Saharan Afric ...

(Ghana/UK) *

Taiye Selasi Taiye Selasi (born 2 November 1979 in London, England) is an United States, American writer and photographer. Of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, she describes herself as a "local" of Accra, Berlin, New York City, New York and Rome. In 2005, Selasi ...

(Ghana/Nigeria/UK/

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) * Namwali Serpell (

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

/US) *

Lola Shoneyin Lola Shoneyin (born Titilola Atinuke Alexandrah Shoneyin; 26 February 1974 in Ibadan, Nigeria) is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, ''The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives'', in the UK in May 2010. Shoneyin has forged a ...

(Nigeria) * Novuyo Rosa Tshuma (

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

/South Africa) *

Chika Unigwe Chika Nina Unigwe (born 12 June 1974) is a Nigerian-born Igbo novelist who writes in English and Dutch. She was the winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2012 for her novel '' On Black Sisters' Street''. In April 2014, she was selected ...

(Nigeria/

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

/US) *

Zukiswa Wanner Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976) is a South African journalist, novelist and editor born in Zambia and now based in Kenya. Since 2006, when she published her first book, her novels have been shortlisted for awards including the South African Literar ...

"Spotlight: Who is Zukiswa Wanner?"
Africa39 Blog, 18 March 2015. (Zambia/South Africa/Zimbabwe/Kenya) * Mary Watson (South Africa/

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

) * Mohamed Yunus Rafiq (

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

)

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Africa39
at Hay Festival website. *

"Africa39: how we chose the writers for Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Books Blog, 10 April 2014. *

James Murua James Murua is a Kenyan blogger, journalist and media consultant, who has written for a variety of media outlets. He is a former columnist for '' The Star'' newspaper in Kenya, leaving to become a full-time blogger. In 2013, he founded a website � ...

"What happened to the 'most promising writers' of Africa39? – Part 1"
''Writing Africa'', 7 May 2019; an
"What happened to the 'most promising writers' of Africa39? – Part 2"
''Writing Africa'', 8 May 2019. * James Murua
"Africa39: What have the writers been up to since 2014?"
''Writing Africa'', 19 April 2024. African literature Projects established in 2014