In a statement on Friday, the forum announced that Nnorom Azuonye, James Murua and Michal Musiałowski will be on the debut edition of AWFLinkUp via Zoom, on March 28, 2021 from 4-6pm Nigerian time.
Azuonye is a dramatic artist, poet, interviewer, literary editor and publisher based in London. He is also founding administrator, Sentinel Writing & Publishing Company, editor of Sentinel Literary Quarterly and founding publishing director at SPM Publications Ltd, London.
Azuonye is the author of “We Need God in Nigeria Again” (Poetry), “Funeral of the Minstrel” (a play), “The Bridge Selection: Poems for the Road”, and “Letter to God & Other Poems”.
His other books are “The Genesis of Falcon” (editor), “Sentinel Literature Anthology” (co-editor) and “Blue Hyacinths” (co-editor). His poems, short stories, interviews and essays have been published in international journals and anthologies, notably; “Agenda, “Orbis”, “Nigerians Talk”, “Flair”, “Maple Tree Literary Supplement”, “DrumVoices Revue”, “Ink Sweat & Tears”, “Poems for a Liminal Age”, “Wreaths for a Wayfarer”, “Eclectica Magazine”, “African Writer, African Writing and World Haiku Review”.
Azuonye’s books forthcoming in 2021 include “On the Record: Conversations with Writers & Artists: and “The End of Fear & Other Early Sermons”.
James Murua is based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a blogger, journalist, and podcaster who has written for a variety of media outlets in a career spanning print, web, and TV.
His online space www.jamesmurua.com, which focuses on literary news and reviews, was created in 2013 and is the number one blog on African literature today.
The blog was nominated for “Best Creative Writing Blog” for the 2018 Bloggers Association of Kenya Awards. He was also announced as Best Writer “Theatre, Art and Culture” at Kenya’s Sanaa Theatre Awards and listed as one of the top men in digital Kenya in 2018.
Murua has conducted workshops on blogging and social media in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi and has been a media consultant for the Goethe Institute, Nairobi.
He was an editor for The Star newspaper in Kenya for five years and a columnist for nine where he was voted “Columnist of the Year” in 2009. He has also been a contributor to Management Magazine (Kenya), The Daily Nation (Kenya), The Nairobian (Kenya), DigifyAfrica.com (South Africa), Johannesburg Review of Books (South Africa), and Africa Independent (South Africa).
Musiałowski is a teacher, a poet, and a cultural activist based in Germany. He is a co-founder of the free global creative expression community and platform Blank Pages that promotes art as a tool of connection and transcultural dialogue. His academic work concentrates on Nigerian Poetry, Cosmopolitanism, and Art-Based Research.
The maiden edition will focus on publishing blogs, journals and anthologies as a means of giving writers, especially those from Africa, a platform of expression.
