Akwaaba!

Wole Soyinka, Ama Ata Aidoo, Buchi Emecheta, Chinua Achebe ... isn’t it odd--and a little sad--that the list of top writers from West Africa hasn’t changed in the past decade? Are there no talented writers in West Africa? No one wanting to join this crop of distinguished and respected writers?

Where are the breakout novelists? Where are the books that will earn our authors millions? Why are East and Southern Africans receiving international acclaim over West African authors? Why are our books only used in secondary schools for Literature?

We are blessed to exist in a period where the world is hungry for new voices and new stories, and our own citizens are becoming increasingly patriotic. While regions like Asia and South America, and even some other parts of Africa, are coming up strongly, it looks like West Africa is going into obscurity. Our aspiring authors choose alternate goals in life, because they are not sure how to fulfil their writing dreams.

Enter Fiction Writers of West Africa.

FWoWA is a group set up to bring aspiring and published writers of West Africa together to share and encourage one another in our pursuance of the writing profession. This blog is about helping West African writers to become the best writers they can be so our stories can be told all over the world.

Please join the site and share your stories. Tell us where your interests lie, where you've reached in your writing career, what your goals are for the coming year (or five years time, you decide). Where in West Africa are you located? If you aren’t located in West Africa, tell us where you are joining us from. And if neither option applies to you, but you simply love West Africa and would like to help get our voices out there, you are definitely welcome to join the group.

You can also join our Yahoo! Group here

Empi