Inside Sokoto: an evening with a Curator and Literary Enthusiast.

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Uchenna Emelife is a graduate of Literature in English, from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He is an arts curator, administrator, and a bookseller. He is the founder and director of Book O’Clock — a literary organisation that hosts a literary blog, book clubs, and a bookstore.

He co-curated the first Book and Arts Festival in Sokoto in 2021 and 2022 and was nominated as Mediapreneur of the Year in the Founder of the Year Awards. In 2022, he was selected to attend the maiden Sharjah International Booksellers Conference in UAE and was shortlisted for the Ashoka Africa Changemaker Prize. In 2023, he was listed by Vanguard Press as one of the top 20 influential graduates of UDUS and was awarded the best graduating student of Literature in English.

He has been featured in several book and literary festivals, including the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival, Kwara Book and Arts Festival, Abuja Literary Festival, and HIASFEST. In addition, he curates conversations and special projects for Africa in Dialogue and Isele Magazine and serves as the project officer of the Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFEST).

His contributions have been spotlighted by Okay Africa where he shares his motivation to start Book O'Clock; Legit News NG where he is praised for being Igbo yet working in northern Nigeria amidst Nigeria's growing ethnicism; the Movee Magazine where his curatorial contributions are spotlighted; among others.

He is also very interested in the power of stories and engaging storytellers who can wield such powers in reacting to various social issues. That forms the basis of his literary journalism and the interviews he curates for Africa in Dialogue, Isele Magzine, and Book O'clock Review.

When Uchenna Emelife is not designing literary projects, his head would be found buried in a book or his PC binging American sitcoms.

This month's interview on Naija in the Mix will feature an exclusive interview with Uchenna Emelife as he talks about some highlights from his life as a curator and literary promoter in Sokoto. He will answer some of your most anticipated questions and talk on some of his highlights that include:

1. How did Uchenna's journey in the literary world begin, and what led him to establish Book O'Clock?

2. What were some of the highlights of the first Book and Arts Festival in Sokoto that Uchenna co-curated in 2021?

3. How did his nomination as Mediapreneur of the Year impact his work and contributions to the literary community?

4. What insights did Uchenna gain from attending the Sharjah International Booksellers Conference in the UAE in 2022?

5. In what ways has Uchenna's background as an Igbo individual working in northern Nigeria influenced his work and his role in the literary field?

. . and lots more!


Our interview goes live on 25th August, 2023. 

Mark your calendars, stay tuned, and get ready as I bring you along on a journey that saw me travel into The Caliph's Home!

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