News & Events

On the occasion of the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture, to be given by Dr Mercy Iroaganachi on 7 December, the ASCL Library has created a web dossier on African archives. The web dossier starts with a selection of titles on archives in Africa, followed by a list of African archives which are available online. 

On 7 December 1963, Nigerian author Daniel Olorunfẹmi Fágúnwà drowned, suddenly falling into the Kaduna River while waiting to cross by ferry. Fagunwa’s first novel, Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmọlẹ̀, is widely considered the first full-length novel published in the Yoruba language.

Applications for the GROW Research Programme are now open! Within GROW (Graduate Research on Worldwide Challenges) Leiden University and four other Dutch universities will appoint 51 PhD candidates to conduct solution-oriented research for and with the African continent. Application deadline: 31 January.

On 1 December 2014, Kenyan publisher and writer Asenath Bole Odaga died in Kisumu, Kenya at the age of 77. Odaga promoted literature in Kenyan languages and the study of oral literature by writing in Luo and co-authoring a guide to oral literature for students.

On 22 November 1943, Senegalese film director and ethnologist Safi Faye was born  in Dakar.  She was the first Sub-Saharan African woman to direct a commercially distributed feature film, Kaddu Beykat,  winning awards at FIFEF (Festival International du Film d’Expression Française), FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma d’Ouagadougou), and the Berlin Film Festival.

On 15 November 1999, Ivorian writer, screenwriter, filmmaker and  teacher, Jean-Marie Adé Adiaffi died at the age of 58 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.  In 1981 he was awarded the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire for his novel  "La carte d'identité" (The identity card, 1980).