Literary magazine, Brittle Paper has really come through in 2017 for Nigerian queer writers and queer writing. From promoting Holy Sex, to campaigning for the release of Chi Ibe and promoting Caine Prize shortlistee, Arinze Ifeakandu, they’ve been front and centre in ensuring that the often marginalised voices of LGBTQ writers and their allies are heard.

This is why the Brittle Paper’s second annual Conversation focusing on Queerness in Nigeria and literary renaissance in the years after President Goodluck Jonathan’s discriminatory law criminalising homosexual marriage and associations is important to us.

Not only is it an important conversation to have, for literature generally, it serves the dual purpose of humanising the misunderstood and introducing alternate worlds to the casual reader. It will also help in providing a documented history of the times. Brittle Paper best describes it as such:

In the wake of these horrific past two months in which Nigerian homophobia has expended law-backed violence on writers, Brittle Paper brings together a few of the country’s notable new voices to discuss the future of queer writing in Nigerian literature. For the conversation titled “Un-Silencing Queer Nigeria: The Language of Emotional Truth,” our guests are: Romeo Oriogun, winner of the 2017 Brunel International African Poetry Prize; Arinze Ifeakandu, finalist for the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing; Kelechi Njoku, finalist for the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa Region; and Laura Ahmed, editor at 14. We take special delight in hosting this all-important conversation. All of these new voices were published by us long before they began their ascent: their invitation is based on their representation of Brittle Paper‘s vision to be a space for the growth of young and emerging voices on the continent.

This is something really interesting, and with it being on Facebook, everyone of us should be able to attend without fear of being associated with ‘the gheys’.

Here are the deets:

TOPIC:

Un-Silencing Queer Nigeria: The Language of Emotional Truth

GUESTS:

Romeo Oriogun, winner of the 2017 Brunel International African Poetry Prize.

Arinze Ifeakandu, finalist for the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing.

Kelechi Njoku, finalist for the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa Region.

Laura Ahmed, editor at 14.

MODERATOR:

Otosirieze Obi-Young, finalist for the 2016 Miles Morland Writing Scholarship and the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award, editor at Brittle Paper.

DATE:

August 5.

TIME:

4 p.m. GMT.

VENUE:

Brittle Paper’s Facebook page.