Buchi Emecheta Foundation (BEF) and Omenala Press will present an all-day memorial event at the Brunei Gallery’ SOAS, on February 3rd, 2018 to celebrate the British-Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta, who passed away in January 2017.
The day will also feature the launch of the long-awaited new edition of Buchi Emecheta’s novels, and the official announcement of the Buchi Emecheta Foundation (BEF) – a charitable organisation promoting literary and educational projects in the UK and in Africa, with an emphasis on black women’s writing and the nurturing of female creative talent.
In a career spanning thirty years, Buchi Emecheta published 16 novels, three children’s stories, numerous articles, television plays and a formal autobiography Head Above Water. She was the recipient of several prestigious awards and in 1978, she received the Jock Campbell, New Statesmen award for her novel The Slave Girl. In 1984, she was included as one of Granta’s Best of young British novelists, and in 2005 she was awarded an OBE for her contribution to literature.
As a novelist, Emecheta touched the lives of many people in the UK but also in the United States where she has a huge following, and in continental Africa, where her books have long been part of the school curriculum.
Emecheta continues to inspire new and older generations through the example she set as an immigrant, single mother of five children who rose from poverty to become an international literary figure and Britain’s first Black Female novelist.
The Celebratory event will include a curated installation of The Life and Times of Buchi Emecheta. There will be panel discussions, drama, music and of course, Nigerian food. Also, expect a colourful cultural tribute from members of the Ibusa community in London to which Buchi Emecheta belonged.
The event is open to the public and will include a children’s storytelling session. Early booking is available via Eventbrite.
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