Brittle Paper

Brittle Paper
Editor Ainehi Edoro
Categories Art, culture, interviews, literature
Frequency Weekly
Publisher Ainehi Edoro
First issue August 1, 2010
Country United States
Based in Chicago
Language English
Website www.brittlepaper.com

Brittle Paper is a literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene."[1][2] It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctoral student from Duke University, now an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison). Since its founding in 2010, Brittle Paper has published works from established and upcoming African writers in Nigeria and around the world.

Founding and features

According to its founding editor, the blog bega as an outlet for her postgraduate work at Duke University.[3] The site was run out of her private finances. Edoro said: "I wanted Brittle Paper to be this place where lifestyle and literature intersected. I wanted to create a space for African literature that was chill and fun, that wasn’t preachy and had a little bit of everything for everybody. For me, Brittle Paper was about thinking about how African literature intersected with so many different spheres."[4]

The site eventually featured news, views about African literature and its practitioners. Edoro describes it as "a literary project designed to adapt African literary culture to this new reality of speculative writing--fantasy, science fiction-- but also in experimental narratives, pulp-fiction, and other off-beat genres."[5] In 2016, she hired the Nigerian writer Otosirieze Obi-Young to co-edit the blog.[6]

Evolution and place in African literary conversations

Brittle Paper publishes original content submitted by authors, as well as commissioned reviews, interviews, essays, and other literary work. It has grown now into "a thriving community of readers and writers interested in everything about African literature."[7]

Since 2015, Brittle Paper has recognized an African Literary Person of the Year, with the inaugural award going to Nigerian sci-fi novelist Nnedi Okorafor.[8] The 2016 award went to Zimbabwean novelist Petina Gappah,[9] and the 2017 award to Lola Shoneyin.[10]

In August 2017, the blog launched the Brittle Paper Literary Awards.[11] The awards are given in five categories: short prose fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, essays/think pieces, and an Anniversary Award. It is the first literary awards in Africa to be run by a magazine and without corporate support.

References

  1. ↑ "About". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  2. ↑ "The Leading Woman: AINEHI EDORO – Her Philosophy & Her Army Of African Writers On Brittle Paper – Woman.NG". woman.ng. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Ainehi Edoro, Founder of BrittlePaper.com - AfricanWriter.com". AfricanWriter.com. 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  4. ↑ "Need To Know - How Ainehi Edoro of Brittle Paper Is Redefining The African Literary Experience - The Style HQ". thestylehq.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  5. ↑ "Online, the home of new African literature | The Herald". www.herald.co.zw. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  6. ↑ TAG ARCHIVES: OTOSIRIEZE OBI-YOUNG.
  7. ↑ "Need To Know - How Ainehi Edoro of Brittle Paper Is Redefining The African Literary Experience - The Style HQ". thestylehq.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  8. ↑ "The 2015 Brittle Paper Literary Person of the Year", Brittle Paper, 2015-12-14.
  9. ↑ "The 2016 Brittle Paper Literary Person of the Year", Brittle Paper, 2016-12-19.
  10. ↑ "The 2017 Brittle Paper Literary Person of the Year", Brittle Paper, 2017-12-30.
  11. ↑ "Announcing the Brittle Paper Literary Awards: The Shortlists", Brittle Paper, 2017-08-23.
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