Ghana Voices Series: Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, Guest Writer for October

This month, we will be featuring Elizabeth Irene-Baitie, author of the novel, “The Twelfth Heart”, which won the first prize in the Burt Award for African Literature (Ghana) in 2010.

Elizabeth-Irene Baitie is a Clinical Biochemist and runs a medical laboratory practice in Adabraka. She grew up in Ghana. She attended Achimota School, and has a degree in Biochemistry with Chemistry from the University of Ghana, Legon, as well as a postgraduate degree in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Surrey in the UK.

In 2002, her novel, “Lea’s Christmas”, was short-listed for the Macmillan Writers Prize for Africa (Senior readers). Four years later, her children’s story, “A Saint in Brown Sandals”, won the Macmillan Prize for Africa (Junior readers). She has just finished another novel for young adult readers which will be published next year.

Elizabeth will be reading from her novel, “The Twelfth Heart”, which tells the story of fifteen year old Mercy, in boarding school for the first time. Mercy  knew the sort of friends she wanted to make — certainly no-one who would remind her of the small town she had left behind — poor, ugly or dull. How was she to know that the least likely of the girls in her boarding house would come to mean the most to them all?

This event offers the opportunity to listen to and interact with Elizabeth Irene-Baitie. There will be a short discussion session after the readings. Copies of the book will be on sale.

This programme is organised in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, Accra.

Date: Wednesday, 26th October Time 7:00pm – 8:00pm. Location: Goethe-Institute Accra, 30 Kakramadu Road, (next to NAFTI ), Cantonments, Accra. 

Admission is free.