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The Writers Project of Ghana has selected the following books for its next three readings: May: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald . This is a collection of short stories; June: The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad . This story was published together with A Personal Record by Penguin Classics in an eponymous book titled The Mirror of  the Sea & A Personal Record ; July: Daisy Miller by Henry James .  Copies of these books are available at the EPP Bookshop Legon. For inquiries about joining the book club please email bookclub[at]writersprojectghana.com.

The Writers Project of Ghana has a book club it prefers to call The Book and Discussion Club which meets once every month to discuss the selected text for the month. The Book and Discussion Club has selected and read several books since its formation in 2011. Last month's (March) book was Mawuli Adzei 's collection of poems Testament of the Seasons . When information reached Dr Adzei - author of Taboo  - that we were going to read and discuss his book, he volunteered to be present. It was always going to be tricky discussing and interrogating the work of a writer in his or her presence. In his absence you could always say whatever you like and this was the first time it was happening. The Book Club has played host to some authors before, though their works were not under discussion at the time of the meeting. We have had Binyavanga Wainaina and Kojo Laing visiting us and reading to us their works. ( Note that this discussion is different from the monthly Book Reading ...

The Twitter Book Discussion, an online extension of the Book and Discussion Club of the Writers Project of Ghana , moved into full swing on May 22, 2013 with a discussion of the book A Question of Power.  Prior to this a series of quotes had been shared to its twitter followers. The May 22 edition of this monthly book discussion was a huge success with participants coming from several countries. The idea to extend the Book and Discussion Club to twitter was to have as many individuals as possible read and appreciate a book beyond the words. It was also to expand the reach of the BDC which in itself is a quasi-closed group. At the beginning of every month a book will be announced on WPG's twitter page (with the hand  @writersPG ) followed by the hashtag #wpghbookclub . All those who would want to participate in the discussion could tweet their intention at this handle and follow it with the hashtag. Readers could share snippets of quotes from the book whilst they...

In our last reading for the year 2011, we will feature Dr Gheysika Adombire Agambila, author of the novel, “Journey”. Gheysika Adombire Agambila was born in Bolgatanga, and was educated in Ghana and the USA, where he had his BA from Brandeis University, an MBA from the University of Rochester, and Ph.D from New York University. Dr Agambila  has worked with Ernst and Young, taught at the University of Ghana Business School, and served as a Deputy Minister of State in the  Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Harbours and Railways, and Environment and Science. He also has to his credit a collection of short stories for children, “Solma: Tales from from Northern Ghana”. Dr Agambila will read from the novel, “Journey”, described by reviewer Kari Dako as “…an absorbing exploration of reality in contemporary Ghana…” and by A Denkabe as  “… a fine novel, written in a sober yet often moving style, and rich in the way it reflects the Ghanaian post-colony.” “Journ...

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 f...

The Writers Project of Ghana intends to publish two anthologies of Ghanaian writing in 2012.  There will be one anthology of poetry and another of short stories. You are welcome to be a part of this. Poetry:  Send in five poems on any theme to poetry@writersprojectghana.com . Maximum length of any poem is 120 lines. Short Stories: Send a short story between 400 – 4,000 words, on any theme to story@writersprojectghana.com .   The target readership is young adults and older.   The language of choice is English, but works in other Ghanaian languages are welcome. Submissions should be received by 30 th September, 2011. Our 2011 anthology of poetry, look where you have gone to sit, is available at the following places: EPP bookshop University of Ghana Bookshop, Legon Citi FM, Adabraka ___________________ *Edited: July 09, 2011 @12:38 PM

The Writers Project of Ghana (WPG) is pleased to have Manu Herbstein , author of Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade , as the guest writer for June, and as usual there will be a reading at the Goethe Institute in Accra. This event, which is part of the Ghana Voices Series, will take place on Wednesday 29th June, 2011. Manu Herbstein's novel won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book in 2002. Beyond this, Manu has many other works to his credit, one of the more recent being President Michelle - Ten Days that Shook the World . The author will be reading from a variety of his works, giving a wide view of his skill and scope of writing.  The Ghana Voices Series provides a platform to engage with writers in a friendly atmosphere. The reading will be followed by a discussion. This programme is organised in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, Accra. Date: Wednesday, 29th June, 2011 Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Goethe Institute, 30 Kakramadu Road, (next to NA...

Beginning today, there is a series of literary activities happening in Accra, Ghana. Here is a list of them and what they are about. World Poetry Day at PAWA House (Today, 21st March, 2011) Today, 21st March 2011 is World Poetry Day and to celebrate this day, the Ehalakasa TalkParty would be participating in a poetry performance at the PAWA House at 6 o'clock pm. This event is a collaboration between the Ghana Association of Writers and the Ehalakasa TalkParty movement.  However, currently taking place is a Street Performance/Flash Mob. This is to let the people know more about the Ehalakasa Poetry Movement and to ensure that poetry and spoken word, as art forms, become synonymous with Ghanaian life. From Ehalakasa's fan page on facebook : E HALAKASA!!! IT LIVES IN US! COME JOIN US TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL POETRY DAY IN A JUBILANT WAY! There will be street performances from Ehalakasa poets with unsuspecting members of the public as the audience.  We are meeting at Odo Rice...

@Farida's Reading at the Goethe Institute Last Friday, under the auspices of the Ghana Writers Project and the Goethe Institute, the Ghana Voices Series organised its first book reading of the year, which saw Farida Bedwei read from her debut novel, The Definition of a Miracle . Her detailed description of scenes and events was palpable as she read different passages to the audience. The lighter side of the story sends guffaws all across the hall. Her description of life in the early and later 90s in Ghana is fresh and the language precise especially for the main character, from whose view point the story was narrated. There is nothing as interesting as meeting an author and questioning her on her book as the question and answer session proved. I made a purchase which I got autographed; it would be reviewed on this blog in the course of the year. The Definition of a Miracle  would be launched on March 5, 2011 at the PAWA (Pan-African Writers Association) House located near Accra...

I continue what I started yesterday, to blog five new and first time books from five different authors from three countries. Yesterday I talked about the  duo from Zimbabwe: Tendai and Bryony . Today, I come home, Ghana. It is unfortunate that the volume of book publication (literary, not nursery rhymes produced in a corner shop) in Ghana has taken a negative turn and I hope that by the institution of the  Burt Awards , new writers would be challenged enough to pick up the pen and put something delectable on paper. Powder Necklace by Ekua Brew-Hammond About the Author: "As a kid, I lived in Ghana for three years where I attended boarding school and encountered a small group of kids whose parents had also sent them to Ghana from Europe and the States. I wanted to write a book about that unique hybrid experience of being from two places at the same time, crisscrossing the globe to visit family 'back home' and on other dots of the map, and figuring out how to answer when p...

Book Reading Martin Egblewogbe read from his short story anthology, Mr. Happy and the Hammer of God at the Niagara Plus Hotel on July 28, 2010. This book reading was organised by the Writers Project of Ghana . Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery I have read numerous detective novels but none of them was authored by an African. Most novels by Africans either dwell on the past or complain of the present. Crime as it is known in novels is a 'no-go' area for most of us. This might be because of the humanity of our spirits and the attachment we have towards the spirits that we fail to see that it occurs, that it has become part of the present Africa and Ghana. But Kwei Quartey has not forgotten. He writes about it and he doesn't just gloss over it in his writings but it is the subject of his writings. This Physician cum Writer has created the Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery. The title of his first novel in this series was titled Wife of the Gods. Currently he is working on his...

The Reading of Mr. Happy and the Hammer of God by the Author There is going to be a reading of Mr. Happy and the Hammer of God at the Niagara Plus Hotel, Osu behind Koala Shopping Centre on 28th July 2010 at 7pm. Mr. Happy and the Hammer of God is an eclectic collection of short stories written by the Ghanaian Writer and Physicist, Mr. Martin Egblewogbe , co-founder of the Writers Project of Ghana, the Eha-Lakasa Poetry TalkParty held at the Nubuke Foundation, and host of the new and exciting literary appreciation program on Citi Fm 97.3 (which I would talk about in the next item). As a Physicist, Martin as a strange way of penetrating into life and of coming out with essence of issues. Some of the titles in the book are Pharmaceutical Interventions, Small Changes in the Dynamic, Jjork, Three Conversations with Ayuba, Down Wind, and many others. These are just no collection of Short Stories. These are the best collection of short stories you would ever read. Martin once told me, dur...

This Sunday, July 4, 2010, would be TalkParty Plus. TalkParty is a the name for the meeting of members of the Eha-lakasa poetry movement. Confused? Yes... the spirit moved some individuals in Ghana to take the literary scene, that has for sometime become lethargic, by thrust and literally push it with all the spiritual force it required. Sir Black, Nii Lante, Martin Egblewogbe and many others were there to plant the seed that has today grown to become a force so powerful and defining that it has become the face of the arts in Accra. And judging by the youthfulness of the participants, it is clear that the survival of Ghana's literary front is assured. If those who see themselves as having arrived (and who had always been mentioned whenever people talk about literature in Ghana) would not nurture the youth, the youth would nurture themselves and this is the pot where all the condiments and spices and leaves required for such brew is found. So back to the meeting. The Ehalakasa mov...

The Writers' Project of Ghana, over the weekend, rolled out yet another of its series of workshops for writers in Ghana--this time dubbed 'A Day and Half Poetry Marathon'. Last weekend's edition is the third of its kind this year and focused on writing freely without any inhibitions as far as poetry is concerned.  The workshop saw many participants producing materials instantly at the workshop on the first day. The second day focused, however, on peer critiquing of one work produced by each participants with Dr. Mawuli Adzei, a writer and lecturer at the University of Ghana English Department, steering affairs. The project aims to improve the skills of writers, beginners, amateurs and 'already-made' writers. Report by Obed Sarpong, A Participant Poet, Writer, Radio Host and a Member of the Ehalakasa Poetry TalkParty.

The Writers Project of Ghana is organising a day and half poetry workshop at the Reading Room of the Legon Hall at University of Ghana, Legon on 26th and 27th June 2010. There would be a poetry marathon on the first day and then on the second day written poems would be workshopped.  The time is 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on the 26th June, and 12' noon to 5:00 pm on the 27th June. If you are within the neighbourhood of Accra, kindly make it a point to attend. Come and let's push the literary front of Ghana. To confirm your participation please send an email to m.egblewogbe(at)gmail(dot)com.