Seeking Talented Young Journalists
September 22, 2008
SPIN Magazine is seeking talented young journalists in Nairobi to join a new global network of regionally-based music and event web sites.Correspondents should have an intimate knowledge of local music or be otherwise interested in writing or blogging about music, but must be strong writers eager to begin a reporting career. Primarily the goal is to serve the regional music communities, not to take African music to the West.
SPIN is an American magazine renowned for its coverage of rock and roll, popular music and culture. The infrastructure for the new global project is still being prepared but we do know we will pay our
correspondents a reasonable sum, and will begin publication by the beginning of 2009. Mainly right now we would like to get an idea of who is willing to regularly submit fun stories, photographs and video about music scenes and artists in Nairobi, and get to attend concerts and festivals around Kenya.
If you are interested please email a digital photo of yourself and a few short biographical paragraphs including age and how familiar you are with the local music scene to the address below. East Africans in the writing community but located in other cities like Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam,
Lusaka, Harare can also apply.
Please email your applications/ enquiries to the below:
Lars Russell
International Correspondent Coordinator
SPIN Magazine
59 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA, 94108
lrussell@spin.com
608 217 3636
Storymoja Calling Inspirational Material Writers
September 16, 2008
Storymoja is organizing a workshop for writers of inspirational material, however broadly this can be defined. We know there are many of you with powerful, life-changing experiences to share, but may need the structure and know-how we can provide to get the story down. These stories must be presented in an attractive, informative, clear and well-edited manner so that even those with a bias against books, but are hungry for the content, can read them.
Storymoja is inviting you to participate in a writing workshop led by Betty Wamalwa, a development consultant and poet (among many other things), and Doreen Baingana, author and managing editor of Storymoja. We have tentative dates and a structure, and would like to know if you can attend. The goal is to have a completed, ready-to-publish manuscript of 20,000 – 30,000 words that Storymoja will publish if it meets our standards.
PROPOSED DATES: Mondays and Thursdays, 6pm to 9pm
22/09/08, 25/09/08, 29/09/08, 2/10/08
A weekend retreat on the 17th, 18th and 19th October (or one weekend earlier) for the final editing of the manuscript.
The cost is only Kshs 300 for photocopied materials.
If interested, please send a sample of your writing and/or your book idea to Doreen AND Betty at bettymuragori@yahoo.com and dbaing@yahoo.com
More details will be sent to those who interested. Please do not hesitate to ask questions and give suggestions.
Calling Playwrights
September 11, 2008
The American Embassy’s Cultural attaché will be hosting Lynn Nottage ,a playwright from Brooklyn in Nairobi from 21st-26th September.Kwani Trust will be the venue of two of the workshops as indicated below:
September 22nd : Workshop I: ( 0930-1130) Generative writing workshop: Lynne leads a series of writing exercises designed to stimulate creativity and expand a writers’ arsenal of tools.
At the end of the session, she will give a writing assignment based on the exercises explored in the session. She will ask the writers during the intervening days to generate writing to present at the second workshop.
September 24th : Workshop II: (0930-1130 ) You all read and explore the take home exercises, as well as any short work that the participants might want to share with Lynne and the group for feedback. She will ask the participants to bring writing tools ( preferably a spiral notebook), a list of questions about the craft of writing that they might want to address in the workshop and creative positive energy!
Submissions can be made by enthusiasts, particularly un-published ones, and
should be no more than 2 pages long.Please send them to Angela (a.wachuka@kwani.org) by 15th September.
(Kwani is located In Westlands on the dirt road ( Mogotio Road) opposite the Holiday Inn. Savla Plaza, 2nd Floor.)
Conversation with Rev. fr. Uwem Akpan & Monica Arac de Nyeko
August 28, 2008
Hekima forum for exploring faith in public life invites you to a conversation between two internationally acclaimed African creative fiction writers to be held on Saturday, 6 September, 2008, 10:00AM – 12 Noon at Hekima College Auditorium, Ngong Road, Nairobi.The writers are:
Rev. fr. Uwem Akpan, sj who is author of bestselling collection of short stories, Say You’re One of Them (New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2008) and Finalist for 2007 Caine Prize for African Writing.
Monica Arac de Nyeko who was the winner of 2007 Caine Prize for African Writing
Fr. Akpan will read from Say You’re One of Them & discuss his stories of Pain & Redemption in Africa with Monica Arac de Nyeko.
Please note Hekima Forum is a Public Lecture, no need to book. Please come along early as seats are limited and attendance is usually high.Hekima Forum for Exploring Faith in Public Life is a programme of Hekima College (School of Theology and Institute of Peace Studies)
The Convener is:
A. E. Orobator, SJ
P.O. Box 21215-00505, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel. 3876608/9 – Mobile: 0735106681 – Email: forum@hekimacollege.org
*There will be a raffle draw for free autographed copies of Uwem Akpan’s book, Say You’re One of Them.
For free download of audio recording & excerpts of stories by Uwem Akpan, go to www.sayyoureoneofthem.com
