Pa Gya! A Literary Festival in Accra (2023)
Writers Project of Ghana, Goethe-Institut Ghana, and Foundation For Contemporary Art-Ghana announce the seventh edition of PA GYA! A Literary Festival in Accra.
Main Sponsor
with support from
Events
*Continuously Updated*
Please see the list below and apply using the linked forms. Applications are open from 22nd September to 29th September, 2023
Crafting Compelling Submissions for UK-based Literary Prizes
Facilitator: Bronia Humble
Time: 3.00 PM - 4.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: Being long or short-listed for a literary prize is a coveted stepping stone towards securing an agent and a future publishing deal. But what does it take to be shortlisted? This workshop is designed for aspiring authors and aims to explain how UK-based literary prizes work and what a writer can do to maximise their chances of winning. Participants will get the opportunity to work with their own existing manuscript or brainstorm ideas for a novel opening during the workshop.
Art Writing : You Can Say What You Think
Facilitators: Ama Benewaa Tawiah, Jeff Atuobi, Abbey It-A
Time: 10.00 AM - 11.30 AM, Saturday, 14th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: This Art Writing workshop is a series of exercises in self-expression and discovery through interactions with contemporary art pieces and some texts. "You can say what you think" is a unique opportunity for participants to respond to art and develop their own distinctive approaches to art writing.
Project Highlights:
- Interactions with contemporary arts that stimulate and challenge one’s perception and makes one pay attention to their aesthetic responses.
- It is all about the participant and their perspective.
Individuals are encouraged through specific tasks to cultivate their voice and articulate their opinions about contemporary arts. There will be collaborative learning from peer feedback and insight sharing.
The work of the participants will be collected and published on an online platform that is widely available.
The workshop can take only 10 participants.
How to Write Dynamic Fiction
Facilitator: Bisi Adjapon.
Time: 2.00 PM - 3.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: Acclaimed writer Bisi Adjapon is facilitating a short, intensive workshop in fiction writing. Learn the art of crafting dynamic writing that keeps readers turning the page. For writers eager to sharpen their skills.
The workshop can take only 10 participants.
Introduction to Creative Writing Workshop.
Facilitator: Samantha Boateng Habadah.
Time: 12.00 PM - 4.00 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: This workshop has been carefully put together to cater for participants with little to no creative writing experience who wish to delve into creative writing. The workshop is target at young adults. This workshop is highly interactive and the participants will be engaged in various activities and writing exercises.
"Lorgorligi Locomotion" - Writing and Performing
Facilitator: Hondred Percent.
Time: 12.00 PM - 2.00 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: The workshop aims to ignite creativity and provide a platform for poets of all levels to share their work in a supportive and inclusive environment. The workshop will have poets experience the journey of writing poetry and preparing for performing said poetry. Participants will be engaged in writing with available prompts and performing written works during the workshop.
"Speak Your Verse, Speak With Courage" - Performance Poetry Workshop.
Facilitator: Emma Ofosua.
Time: 10.00 AM - 12.00 PM, Saturday, 14th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop:The "Speak Your Verse, Speak With Courage" workshop will focus on the art of performance poetry, enabling poets to elevate their written words into captivating spoken performances. The workshop will introduce participants to Performance poetry, what it is and the technical approaches to help performers maximise the craft and engage their audience.
Writing as Thinking.
Facilitator: Professor Pamela Nichols.
Time: 12.30 PM - 2.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: This workshop will introduce writing as thinking, which is the foundational premise behind both the Wits Writing Centre and the Wits Writing Programme (at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa).
In this workshop, we shall explore repertoires of voice employed to construct a scene or event from within a particular mind at a particular moment. We shall consider and practise how syntax can be used to construct a representation of consciousness, contrasting the representation of visceral experience, or participant text, with the representation of a qualified overview, or spectator text. Lastly, we shall consider how movement along the participant-spectator text spectrum can enliven both creative and academic writing. Participants in the workshop are required to bring writing materials and to be ready to experiment with ways of thinking and writing. Participants will also be provided with access to the preliminary draft of an online handbook on Creative Academic Writing.
The workshop can take only 20 participants.
Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essays and Memoir.
Facilitator: Audrey Shipp.
Time: 1.30 PM - 3.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: In this workshop we will situate creative nonfiction as a genre within the broader context of creative writing. How does the personal essay differ from the academic essay? Where do memoir writing and travel writing fit within the context of creative nonfiction? How is creative nonfiction similar to and different from fiction? To consider these questions, we will read examples of creative nonfiction, and engage in generative writing so that participants leave the workshop with their own CNF text.
Literary Reading and Translation Workshop.
Facilitator: Ray Ndebi.
Time: 12.30 PM - 4.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: This workshop invites participants who have an interest in translation and critical reading of literature. The two part workshop will engage participant to help them gain proper skill to
- Read to improve skills in writing
- Read to improve skills in literary translation 3
- Read to improve skills in analysis, editing, publishing.
A Workshop on How To Write A Short Story.
Facilitator: Anni Domingo.
Time: 2.30 PM - 4.30 PM, Friday, 13th October 2023.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Ghana.Open to signed-up participants only.
About the Workshop: If you’re wondering how to write a short story I’m here to help.
Short stories, and getting good at writing them, can actually set you up for success in other writing ventures as well. Short stories are to novels what TV episodes are to movies. They are a form of narrative writing that has all the same elements as novels—plot, character development, point of view, story structure, theme—but are delivered in fewer words. For many writers, short stories are a less scary way to dive into creative writing than trying to write a novel. This doesn’t mean writing short fiction is easy—it, like every other kind of writing, comes with its own unique challenges. This workshop has got tips for everything from coming up with short story ideas to fleshing out a plot, to getting your work published in literary magazines.
*Continuously Updated*
Friday 13th October 2023
Dramatised Reading of "Changes" by Ama Ata Aidoo Directed by Alice Johnson
Time: 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
Saturday 14th October 2023
Drama presentation: semi-staged vignettes from '54.60 Africa.' Femi Elufowoju jnr OBE and Alice Johnson
Time: 4:20 PM to 5:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
Drama Presentation: Ama Ata Aidoo's Our Sister Killjoy. By Drama Queens
Time: 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Inner Courtyard
Sunday 15th October 2023
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*Continuously Updated*
Saturday 14th October 2023
1. Selected Readings from the African Poetry Development Fund Chapbooks with Jay Kophy, Nikitta Dede Adjirakor, and Tawiah Naana Akua Mensah.
Moderated by Sarpong Osei Asamoah.
Time: 1:40 PM to 2:40 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Berlin
1. Reading: Avenues By Train with Farai Mudzingwa.
Time: 2:50 PM to 3:50 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Berlin
1. The World: A Family History.
Reading and Discussion with Simon Sebag Montefiore
Time: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/CourtyardThe Slave Master of Trinidad: William Hardin Burnley and the Nineteenth-Century Atlantic World. Reading and discussion with Professor Selwyn Cudjow.
Time: 5:10 PM to 6:10 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen
1. Selected Readings (Poetry) with Yeow Kai Chai, Chika Jones and Efe Paul Azino.
Time: 6:20 PM to 7:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen.
2. Selected Readings from "Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices" with Nana Ekua Brew Hammond (Ed) , Boakyewaa Glover Johnson Asunka and Ray Ndebi. Time: 6:20 PM to 7:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen.
Sunday 15th October 2023
1. The Saga of a Kwatriot: Satire and Writing Incognito. Readings and discussion with Professor Kwesi Yankah.
Time: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
2. Selected Readings (Poetry) with Gerður Kristný, Kutsenko Oksana and A'bena Awuku Larbi. Moderated by Mamle Kabu.
Time: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
Venue: Library.
1. Yeayi Kobina: Selected Readings.
Time: 3:10 PM to 4:10 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/
Expert in All Styles and Other Stories with I. O. Echeruo..
Time: 4:20 PM to 5:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen
The Illegitimate Prince. Reading and discussion with Empi Baryeh. Time: 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Berlin.
*Continuously Updated*
Saturday 14th October 2023
1. Censorship.Panel discussion with Orthniel Forte, Patron Henekou, Sabata-mpho Mokae .
Time: 10:10 AM to 11:10 AM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Library.
Africomics Presentation Nana Akosua Hansen with input by Elizabeth Wanjiku and Salim Bushiru
Time: 11:20 AM to 12:20 PM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Abansoro
Africomics Presentation Nana Akosua Hansen with input by Elizabeth Wanjiku and Salim Bushiru
Time: 11:20 AM to 12:20 PM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Abansoro
1. Creating Literary Spaces. Panel discussion with Pamela Nichols, Mohammed Abdul Raafi Mohammed , and Rachael Kizza and James Murua. Moderated by Nana Ekua Brew Hammond
Time: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Library
2. Translations: The truth of the matter. With Ray Ndebi, Kutsenko Oksana, Johnson Asunka
Time: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institite/Munchen
1. "54.60 Africa": Interview and Q&A with Femi Elufowoju jnr OBE (recently travelled to all 54 nations on the African Continent).
Moderated by Mamle Kabu
Time: 1:40 PM to 2:40 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
2. digipoems Presentation Keith Kuhadzai and Margaret Chideme
Time: 1:40 PM to 2:40 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
3. Sci-Fi and Fantasy: Afrofuturism and African Mythology in Speculative Fiction and Storytelling With Jacob Osae, Kofi Dzogbewu, Ivana Akotowaa, and Ekow Manuar
Moderated by Nancy Henaku
Time: 1:40 PM to 2:40 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen
1. Exploring the connection between Mythology and Contemporary Story-telling . With Gerður Kristný , Chief Moomen and Tolu Agbelusi.
Time: 2:50 PM to 3:50 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Hamburg
2. Contemporary Art: Conversations about Access. With With Jeff Atuobi Abbey-IT and Ama Benewaa Tawiah.
Time: 2:50 PM to 3:50 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Library
3. Writing Women in Contemporary Times. With Frances Williams , Bisi Adjapon and Edwige Renée Dro.
Time: 2:50 PM to 3:50 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
1. Art Writing from Africa: Its Place in Our Lives and Time With Ese Emmanuel and Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo.
Time: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Library
Prose Choices: Fiction or Creative Nonfiction. Presentation and Discussion with Audrey Shipp.
Time: 5:10 PM to 6:10 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Hamburg
1. Akom and the Literary Imagination. With Kwame Brenya, Nana Danson and Anakwa Dwamena
Time: 6:20 PM to 7:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Hamburg.
2. Amedzro Etɔlia: Ewe book of the year. With Agnes Titriku, Stephen Dziedzorm Dadugblor and Dr. G. Edzordzi Agbozo
Time: 6:20 PM to 7:20 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Koln; ZOOM.
Sharing the Experience of Wintertuin Curaçao Festival and Pa Gya! Gabriel Awuah Manu, Rita Ekua Richardson, Richeline Joe, Elvira Bonafacio, Joeri Pharao and Nana Yaw Sarpong
Time: 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Berlin and ZOOM
Interrupted Dream: 15th Century Dagbon Verse Drama. With Abdul Raafi Mohammed
Time: 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Courtyard
Sunday 15th October 2023
Stories From History: Anni Domingo, author, Breaking the Maafa Chain and Prof. Selwyn Cudjoe, author, The Remarkable Life of Philip Henry Douglin: A Caribbean Pan-Africanist.
Time: 2.00 PM to 3:00 PM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen
Reading Romance as Self-care. With Empi Baryeh, Abena K. Karikari and Nana Adwoa T. Amponsah-Mensah. Moderator: Apiorkor Seyram Ashong-Abbey
Time: 4.20 PM to 5:20 PM
Venue: Goethe-Institut/Munchen