ANA/AE-FUNAI International Conference, creative workshop to hold in July

Nigerian literature is expanding in space, context and productivity but this expansion is yet to benefit from a robust engagement from the critics in tandem with the experience of the 80s and 90s and commensurate with the tempo of the new movement and direction of our literature. From its beginnings in the pre-colonial era to its post-colonial contextualization, the unique breadth of Nigerian literature is second to none in the global south nay the continental sphere.

This has not only produced world acclaimed creative writings but also loads of star writers, international media attention, prizes and intellectual engagement locally and internationally. There have also been many transitions in the career and craft of the writer as writing spaces and methods have since changed to adopt new or emerging schemes, methods and platforms. With this new development, the critical appreciation of the current literature produced on and off line in Nigeria is yet to enjoy sustained engagement from the literary criticism corp of our literature beyond occasional weekend literary punditry in newspapers and other media; that is if we set apart the criticism done within the cloistered world of the academia.

Why is it so? Where are the popular literary critics? Who is best qualified to criticize/analyze emerging Nigerian literature? What cannons and theories should inform criticism of contemporary Nigerian literature in a highly digitalized time such as now? Are the current reviewers or critics well equipped for the task of the current literary enterprise? What needs to be done to bring literary criticism back to the front burner of Nigerian literature? The 2nd ANA/AE-FUNAI International Conference and Creative Workshop seeks to explore answers to these questions at the Association of Nigerian Authors and Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike international conference and creative workshop. Themed Nigeria’s Literary Criticism in an Expanding Space of Creative Writing and Digital Production in the 21st Century, the conference holds from July 2 to 3, 2019 at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State. The organizer, therefore, call for well researched papers reflecting (but not limited to) the sub-themes below:
• Nigerian literature in its current form(s)
• Nigerian creative writing yesterday, today and tomorrow
• Literary criticism and the critics role in Nigerian literary enterprise
• The canons and theories of Nigerian literary criticism
• Digital literature or literature in online platforms
• Blogs, online magazines, journals and literary criticism
• The role of the conventional media in literary criticism
• The role of publishing organizations and publishers in literature’s growth in Nigeria
• The new spaces of publishing, literary production and distribution
• Literature and its new critics
• The role of literary organizations in literary development
• Re-contextualizing literary criticism in Nigeria
• The role of universities in literary development in Nigeria.
Abstract Submission

All intending participants should send an abstract of not more than 250 words to anafunaiconference@gmail.com. Abstracts should be in Times New Roman 12 fonts as an MS Word attachment. The deadline for the submission of abstract is April 30, 2019. Participants whose abstracts are accepted will be notified by the first week of May 2019. Conference participants are to come with a least five (5) hard copies of their papers for distribution to panelists.

Creative Workshop Series
Four workshops shall hold simultaneously within the period of the conference. These workshops shall, among other things, provide for professionals and distinguished writers to engage younger writers in creative enterprises. These workshops, which shall be participatory in nature, shall enable participants to gather skills in the following areas:
Poetry, Prose, Drama and Drawing /painting