Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, organized by award winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from August 6 to August 16 2013. The workshop is sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc.
The Caine Prize winning Kenyan writer, Binyavanga Wainaina, and others will co-teach the workshop alongside Adichie. The workshop will take the form of a class. Participants will be assigned a wide range of reading exercises, as well as daily writing exercises.
The aim of the workshop is to improve the craft of writers and to encourage published and unpublished writers by bringing different perspective to the art of storytelling. Participation is limited only to those who apply and are accepted.
All material must be pasted or written in the body of the e-mail. Please Do NOT include any attachments in your e-mail. Applications with attachments will be automatically disqualified.
Deadline for submission is JUNE 12, 2013. Only those accepted to the workshop will be notified by JULY 22, 2013.
Accommodation in Lagos will be provided for all accepted applicants who are able to attend for the ten-day duration of the workshop.
A literary evening of readings, open to the public, will be held at the end of the workshop on August 16, 2013.
To apply, send an e-mail to udonandu2013@gmail.com
Your e-mail subject should read ‘Workshop Application’
The body of the e-mail should contain the following:
1. Your Name
2. Your Address
3. A few sentences about yourself
4. A writing sample of between 200 and 800 words.
The sample must be either fiction or non-fiction
Farafina Books 
Please, is the list of selected applicants out?
Pls help me check if daniel emmanuel made it. I have issues with my email as have not been able to access it for some weeks now.thanks. Please reply as that would determine my movement really urgently.
Hello farafina. Pls how will those that have problems with there emails be able to know. I have had challenges opening mine, and I wouldn’t even be able to acknowledge if I was selected
Please when exactly( date) would the list of the participants be posted. I Thought it was 22nd, but 22nd has since passed.
The finalists were noted from the 22nd. Once acknowledgements have been received from all the finalists then the names will be posted on our blog.
pls have u selected the candidates for the workshop? A yes or no would be just fine. Thank u.
See our response to Moyo
Hello farafina. The email adress I used in sending my entry has refused to grant me access. It’s tosdan2008@yahoo.com. Pls I’ll like to know if there is another means of notifying me of whether I have been accepted or not. Thanks
i would like to know if the names of shortlisted canditates had been released.
Dear Moyo,
The names of the workshop finalists have yet to be released. Once they are we will post them on our blog.
Thanks for the update on the writing workshop, but will it still be starting on the 6th of August? Because the longer it takes to find out about ‘the chosen ones’, the less time your foreign applicants will have to sort out how they are getting to Lagos.
Thanks.
hello team. I have a problem with the email address I used to enter this competition kilowattcandy@yahoo.co.uk . it crashed and is no longer functional. thank you
Please I would like to know if farafina has selected applicants for the workshop.
Hello farafina. Please I have recently had problems logging into the yahoomail I used in sending my entry. I will like to know if there is any other means of notifying successful applicant. Thanks
OMG! I just saw this. I hope i make it before tomorrow
Dear Farafina, many thanks for extending the deadline to June 30th. I just want to know…are multiple submissions allowed?
Only one submission per applicant will be considered.
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I submitted an excerpt of my work yesterday and its not more than 800 words. I hope its acceptable?
Hello farafina,
I would like to know if the writing sample must be a story. Could it just be a write-up or an article? Thanks.
The workshop is specifically for creative writing.
Hiya Farafina..
I would like to point out something for the benefit of those still willing to apply to the workshop, especially Imisi and Damilare who commented previously. I have a newspaper clipping with me here, cut out from The Punch Newspaper, dated June 20, 2013. It’s concerning the workshop and here it states ‘deadline for submission is June 28, 2013’.
Apparently the date has been shifted forward. So I’m guessing it’ll be safe to say people can still apply?
Sir, I read an advert dated 20th June, 2013 in The Punch Dailies that states that the dealine for submission is 28th June, 2013. How valid is that information?
@Sotanmide and everyone else who saw the Punch ad. There errors in the advert as a result the Trust has agreed to extend the deadline to June 30th. No entries will be accepted after that day. The correct email address is udonandu2013@gmail.com. Please spread the word.
A million thanks for that prompt response!
Oh. I was starting to wonder why the list of accepted applicants is yet to be posted. A whole lot of people don’t know about this new development. Surely some people will drop out as it will surely bite and upset their plans and schedules. Maybe you should make an official announcement about this. Anyways, when will the accepted applicants be notified then?
Alright, thanks. Next year…..arrghhh! I decided to send my application anyway.
Sadly, rules are rules. Please try again next year.
Alright, thanks. Next year…..arrghhh! I decided to send my application anyway.
It is such a shame that i didnt get to know early enough. I applied last year but i missed the part where i wasnt supposed to exceed 800 words. I wonder if my entry could be accepted tomorrow 15th june. I would really hate to miss two years in a row due to incomplete information and lack of information.
Do i stand a chance, or should i not bother? Pls pls
just saw this…can the submission date be extended please?
Unfortunately not. Please try again next year.
Wow! I could not let this opportunity pass me by, though I got this information on the 11th of June. You know, as the saying goes: better late than never. I spent the night, reducing a 5000-word story to less than 700, then applied right away. Hope to be in Lagos on the 8th of August!
Wow! I cannot let this opportunity pass me by, though I just got this information. You know, as the saying goes: better late than never. I’m applying right away. Hope to be in Lagos on the 8th of August!
Did not take me a second to apply for this great opportunity as this is one overdue area where creativity has been neglected….Thanks to the farafina family and NB for this great opportunity … Hope to be in Lagos for the Ten days
We wish you all the best in your application! Thank you.
Thanks Farafina. keep motivating our inks. God bless Chimamanda and all great Inks from Africa.
Pls, I would like to know…is the title of one’s piece included in the word count? Thanks.
We would love to say no but because some titles may be really long we’re going to be totally objective and say, yes.
What, precisely, is meant by “a few sentences about yourself”? Am I giving a soundbite of my life or making a desperate plea to be accepted?
“a few sentences about yourself” means precisely that
ha, thanks
Reblogged this on gossipzone1.
Is Farafina going to feed the participants for the duration of the workshop?
Yes, full room and board is provided for participants.
i have been looking for such opportunity but it isnt easy coming by. i thank the Farafina Books and the organizer of this great event, Chimamanda Adichie for life time opportunity.
Please how do you know your mail has been received?
Lol. Once it says it’s been sent in your sent folder and you don’t get a message saying it didn’t deliver. Don’t worry, just make sure you used the correct email address and be assured that it’s been received.
I know it sounds really laughable but i have had scenerios with friends and colleagues who did not get my sent emails and i had to resend over and over before they eventually got it. It Still beats me why that happens…this is the reason i am concerned.
Perhaps it will be comforting for me and many others in subsequent editions if the FARAFINA TRUST CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP organizers can kindly incorporate a feedback response that will notify participants that their applications has been received.
Thank you.
@Destiny
You make a good point. Your feedback is noted and well received.
Appreciated.
Hi Destiny–
When I submitted my application and writing sample, I received an automated response from them immediately, so I think Farafina Trust does already have something in place. Perhaps you should also check your spam folder to be sure that the receipt email didn’t arrive there.
Uh oh, when I submitted my application last week I didn’t get any automated response.
Now getting worried
Thanks for the good work.
Dear Farafina,
Please can i submit an excerpt of a work?
Yes
Is this open to African writers living outside the continent?
Yes
Do you accept teenagers or will you not take us because we are teenagers, say 13, bearing in mind our writing will not bé as good
There are no age restrictions. The only requirement is good writing which anyone of any age can achieve so don’t be discouraged by your age.
Is this open to African writers living outside the Continent?
Reblogged this on madamemadiba and commented:
Great opportunity for new African writers to grow in their skill.
Hello–
Has the submission guidelines changed since May 18th? I submitted an application and writing sample when the directive was to provide a written piece up to 900 words. If this has been amended, my sample has exceeded the word count. What should I do regarding this? Thanks in advance for your response.
Dear Lastletterfirstword,
If you’ve already made a submission of 900 words we advise that you make another submission explaining the error in your first submission and quoting the exact words and source (with url address) of the incorrect information.
All the best.
Dear God, please let my submission be accepted. I worked so hard to buy her non pirated books and her autograph on d books will make a young lady’s dream come 2ru. Dis workshop looks like d one in ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’….hehehe…rushing to get internet connection now.
I admire Adichie and the late Dr Achebe a lot. I have not less than 5 stories already, The Forked Stick, November 5 and Secrets of a Palace amongst them. I am a member of ANA,SYNW and due for the International Literary Programme organised by Dzanc Books, coming up in June, for two weeks in Lisbon, Portugal. I have applied to be part of this programme twice now but have not priviledged to have been invited. Please, is there anything I am missing out? Anything am failing to do regarding my application? I really want to see and learn from Adichie first hand and in flesh and blood to improve my skills.
Albert
As long as you followed the submission instructions your application will be read. It’s a very competitive process but don’t give up sand keep writing.
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Please are we expected to give a title to the sample writing?
That’s your choice
Must it be a story? If yes,can one write on his own personal experience?
It can be fiction or non-fiction. Yes, you can write about your experience.
Is the piece of writing restricted to prose alone? can we send in poetry or other genres?
It has to be prose: fiction or non-fiction.
Looking at the winners of last year’s workshop, I’m wondering if this is limited to writers living in Nigeria.
No. We have had writers from other countries in Africa.
Please, i am curious does one have to have attained a certain educational level or degree before one is qualified to apply?
No. Any writer can apply.
I’d like to reiterate the earlier question, does one have to indicate if it is fiction or non fiction?
No.
Hello, I’d like to reiterate the question asked earlier, does one have to indicate whether it is fiction or non fiction
Hey Farafina,
This is exciting!
Is this workshop open to writers all over Africa?
Thanks.
Yes, it is.
Awesome!
Hello,
I participated in the first ever workshop (2007, I believe) and could use a refresher since so much time has elapsed. Are ‘graduates’ welcome to apply?
does one have to indicate if it is fiction or non fiction?
Hello,
Awaiting your response.
Thank you.
No, because we would like to give a chance to others who have never attended the workshop.
please does it matter if one has already blogged the piece one wishes to send or not?
No, it does not matter.
oh,ok. Thank you!
please does it matter if one has already blogged the piece one wishes to send or not?
Good day Farafina
Can someone send an except of a published work? Or an except at all.
Thanks.
You can send an excerpt
This is quite a phenomenal event…great information. Thanks
Hello, I sent this message a while ago, but no one replied.
I was wondering, If for this year, I have a piece which I would like to submit that is longer than 800 words, could that be permitted? It’s a story which I feel best represents my writing, but I’m afraid that cutting it would not actually show the piece in its best light. It’s about 1,100 words, would that be okay?
Thanks.
It’s better to follow submission guidelines than risk your work not being read at all
Thanks
Thanks!
Dear Farafina,
I am confused. What exactly are you looking for in the story? Do you want it to finish? Do you want it to be an open ending? Should it be desxriptive? Can the story be in a different style? Or do you just want a story that has a begining, middle and end?
Thhank you.
It’s your choice. Submit a piece of writing following the guidelines which you believe best reflects your talent
Okay. Thank you very much for the time you took to answer my question. Best wishes
does one have to indicate if it is fiction or non fiction?
No.