The Port Harcourt World Book Capital (PHWBC) 2014 staged a reading conversation at the South Africa Book Fair, which held from June 13 to 15 in Cape Town.
Participants at the conversation
The organisers said the conversation, which had Yewande Omotoso, Sindiwe Magona, Prof. Harry Garuba, Imraan Coovadia and a host of others, is in continuation of its global outreach.
On Sunday, particularly, the PHWBC staged a session of readings and conversations on the theme ‘Possibilities of African Literature in the 21st Century’ at its Stand D31-D36 starting at 1pm local time.
This is reminiscent of a similar literary session the PHWBC had staged at the London Book Fair in April with Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as special guests of honour.
Omotoso is the writer of Bom Boy for which she emerged runner-up in the maiden Etisalat Prize for Literature, while Magona is an eminent South African writer, teacher and activist. Prof. Garuba, who moderated the conversation, is a Nigerian academic and head of the Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
The gathering also featured a formal briefing on the PHWBC by the Project Manager and CEO of the coordinating organisation, Rainbow Book Club, Mrs. Koko Kalango.