The trio of May Ifeoma Nwoye, Seth Ogahi and Ladi Opaluwa will feature at the August 26, 2017 edition of the Guest Writer Session, a monthly initiative of the Abuja Writers’ Forum(AWF), which holds by 4pm at the Aso Hall of Nanet Suites, Ekiti House, Abuja.
May Ifeoma Nwoye , a Professor of Business Administration and former University Bursar, is a passionate and prolific writer of fiction.
Nwoye debuted with Endless Search in 1993, and by 2014 she had brought out an impressive collection of novels and short stories which include: TIDES OF LIFE (1995), Mirage in Breaking the Silence: (Anthology of Female writers in Nigeria) 1996, Edible pet 1995: Short story International, New York, Blind Expectations(a collection of Stories) 1997; Death By Installments:1999 A Child Of Destiny (2000), Fetters And Choices (2003) ANCIENT TALES FROM AFRICA:The Broken Promise (2009) Oil Cemetery (2014) Broken Melodies(international version of Fetters and Choices ) (2014) .
Her writings address social and economic injustices in the Nigerian context. She was short-listed in 2004 for the NLNG prize for Literature, and was winner of the 2014 Nigerian Author’s CHEVRON PRIZE for Environment.
Nwoye is one of the most ardent and eloquent voices in the course for social and economic justice. The award-winning OIL CEMETERY x-rays the sufferings and deprivation in Niger-Delta and calls for non-violent conflict resolution. It has been observed that the novelcan make one get mad, cry, laugh and enjoy all at once! She has several professional and academic publications to her credit , is and a former National Vice President of Association of Nigerian Authors.
Ladi Opaluwa is a creative writer with background in journalism. Her fiction has appeared most recently in Electric Literature and Litro Magazine, and has a story forthcoming in Overland Journal.
She was shortlisted for the Morland Writing Scholarship (fiction) in 2015, and is a 2017 MacDowell Fellow. She is based in Abuja where she is currently working on her debut novel.
She will read from one of her short stories and give a talk on her recent writing residency experience at MacDowell.
Seth Ogahi plays rhythm guitar and percussion. A graduate of English Literature from Benue State University, he started his music career fully in 2008 and by 2009 was the writer and performer of the theme song for the year’s National Youth Summit that gathered over 120000 people at Eagle Square, Abuja Nigeria ; the largest of the yearly event till date.
In 2010 at Arise Nigeria Music and Talent Competition Season 2 where he won first prize, judges like TeeMac Iseli and Kelly Adams boldly projected that Seth has the potential to become one of the greatest musician of his time. Mrs Olando Owo, another judge made a startling remark that Seth reminds her of legends such as Bob Marley and John Lennon with deep lyrics and hypnotic performance. And he truly left the audience at the theater of Lagos Television, Agidingbi with rich lyrics and lively performance that would always remain with them.
Ogahi has since been writing and performing, including appearances with international band,HOM COLORS,Pietro Tilli, Philipo as well as being engaged regularly by foreign missions in Nigeria.
He has two official singles to his credit: One Voice and Stand Up for Life. His driving force is the belief that music should mirror society and be a tool for positive transformation and development.
The Guest Writer Session which also features a raffle-draw for books, runs from 4-7pm and is open to the public. The Abuja Writer’s Forum also runs a weekly Critique Session and a regular Creative Writing Workshop series.
