THE maiden edition of Yenagoa Book & Arts Festival, organised by 1402Book Lounge Initiative, organised in partnership with Bayelsa State Ministry of Education is set to hold this month.
With ‘Resilience: How Storytelling Shapes Our Lives’ is theme, YEBAF prides itself as a cultural showpiece of the Niger Delta that will stimulate cultural activities in a region known for its vast oil wealth, rich mangrove forests, a network of amazing creeks and waterways and sundry aquatic life.
The festival merges with Yenagoa Book City 2024 as host of conference of Network of Book Clubs and Reading Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) and AGM, with ‘Loving Books and Securing the Critical Edge in the Running of Book Clubs’ as its theme. Both culture events will take place from September 23 — 26, 2024, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Also known for its degraded environments on account of oil exploration and exploitation activities, the Niger Delta, through YEBAF, will experience a resurgence of good fortunes as cultural workers will converge in the bustling riverine town of Yenagoa for three days of immersive literary and artistic feast inspired by the Annette David-West-led 1402Book Lounge Initiative that runs a bookstore and book club to keep Bayelsans reading. Significantly, the festival is dedicated to celebrating two cultural icons of the Niger Delta — the eminent historian, Prof. E.J. Alagoa @91 and the iconic poet, Dr. Gabriel Okara! Secretary to Bayelsa State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei, will speak to the theme of YEBAF at the opening.
Already, renowned culture workers from across the country will join their Bayelsa counterparts to give fillip to the first edition of YEBAF 2024. These include two veteran festival organisers – Jahman Anikulapo and Toyin Akinosho of 26-year-old Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF), stage and screen actors, Bimbo Manuel, multiple award winning poet, Chijoke Amu-Nnadi, and publisher of online speculative magazine, Omenala, author of a collection of speculative short stories, ‘How to Make a Space Masquerade’ and BBC Igbo Senior Correspondent, Mazi Nwonwu. Others are poet and author of ‘The Strange Moon of Yenagoa’, Samuel Osaze, journalist and author of ‘Igho Goes to Farm’, ‘Libations for Africa’ and ‘Brides of Infidels’, Anote Ajeluorou who will also be in Yenagoa for YEBAF 2024. Also, Masobe Books’ boss Mr. Othuke Ominiabohs will attend and speak on book publishing in a volatile economy.
At the NBRP conference on book clubs, while Mr. Jahman Anikulapo will chair the session, Mr. Josef Nengi Ilagha (aka Pope Pen) will speak on the theme ‘Loving Books and Securing the Critical Edge in the Running of Book Clubs’, just as book clubs’ president, Mr. Richard Mammah will superintend conference activities and annual general meeting.
About the Festival
Yenagoa Book & Arts Festival is designed to position Bayelsa State, and the entire Niger Delta on the forefront of cultural destination. It is a unique cultural festival that deals with books and all cultural expressions in the hugely talented Niger Delta and Bayelsa State specifically. The festival will give opportunity to young and old writers and other artists alike (be it writers, filmmakers, visual artists (painters, photographers, etc), theatre practitioners, musicians, dancers, etc) to showcase their works in an environment of friendliness, interaction and networking among local and international cultural workers. The aim is for young minds to identifying their role models from among the spectrum of talented and experienced festival guests and model their lifestyles after them.
About 1402Book Lounge Initiative
The 1402 BookLounge Initiative is a community-driven project aimed at promoting a culture of reading and literacy. Our mission is to provide a welcoming and inclusive space for people of all ages to explore, learn, and grow through reading and literacy resources, guided reading facilitation, and community engagement.
Established in 2018, our initiative runs on the idea that every person has a unique story to tell, and that reading can help us discover and understand those stories. We believe that reading has the power to transform lives, foster empathy, and connect people across cultures and generations.
