The first day of Yari Yari Ntoaso was simply amazing. I hope to post pictures and a summary of the day’s events over the weekend.

Here’s the schedule for today:

Friday, 17 MAY

9:00am-5:00pm: Registration

9:00am-5:00pm: Book Tables & Vendors

9:30-11:00am: Roundtable: Getting the Work out (for emerging authors)

Writers, editors, and administrators discuss the many venues through which emerging authors can put their work in front of readers.

Doreen Baingana (Uganda); Latasha N Nevada Diggs (USA); Kadija George (Sierra Leone/UK); Nana Ayebia Clarke (Ghana/UK); Martin Egblewogbe (Ghana)

Moderator: Tara Betts (USA)

11:00am-12:15pm: Ghanaian Writers & Scholars in Conversation

Authors and scholars discuss their work and the current literary scenes in Ghana.

Amma Darko (Ghana); Faith Ben-Daniels (Ghana); Ruby Yayra Goka (Ghana); Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana); Demay Ackah-Yensu

Moderator: Doris Dartey

12:15-1:30pm – Lunch – Visit the book tables and vendors, and network!

1:30-1:45pm – Author Portrait Slide Show Presentation: “Her Word as Witness: Women Writers of the African Diaspora” – African Premiere!

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn (USA)

2:00-3:15pm: African & Diaspora Children’s & Young Adult Literature, Now & in the Future

Deborah Ahenkorah (Ghana), Ayo Ayoola-Amele (Ghana); Akachi Ezeigbo (Nigeria), Michelle Martin & Rachelle Washington (USA), Esi Sutherland-Addy (Ghana)

3:30-4:45pm: Authors & Action

How authors respond to environmental and man-made disasters.

Angelique Nixon (Bahamas/USA); Tess Onwueme (Nigeria); Hermine Pinson (USA); Eintou Pearl Springer (Trinidad & Tobago); Dzodzi Tsikata (Ghana)

Moderator: Ira Dworkin (USA/Egypt)

5:00-6:30pm: Tribute to the Life, Writing, & Activism of Jayne Cortez (1934-2012)

7-8:30: Pan-African Writers Association and Ghana Association of Writers Reception, Reading & Open Mic

At PAWA House; address: Roman Road, Roman Ridge, Accra

Hosted by PAWA Secretary General Atukwei Okai, Featuring Natalia Molebatsi, Angelique V. Nixon, Hermine Pinson, & Ghanaian authors TBA