African Literary NGOs: Power, Politics, and Participation

The last decade has seen the emergence of a new generation of prize-winning African writers, including key figures such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Binyavanga Wainaina, Yvonne Owuor, and Monica Arac de Nyeko. But who are these writer-activists and how are they influenced by the complexities of local politics, development aid, and literary production? Structured around the novel concept of the "literary NGO," this study combines interviews of contemporary East African writers with analysis of their professional activities and the cultural funding sector to make an original contribution to African literary criticism and cultural studies.