QFEST Returns with an Array of Activities

The annual Quramo Festival of Words (QFEST) returns this year with a lineup of activities. Themed ‘Africa Positive’, the three-day celebration of art and literary works starting October 7, will feature masterclasses/workshops, panel discussions, book/author class, a poetry contest, film screenings, and stage play which will culminate in the Quramo Writers Prize (QWP)

Introduced in 2017, QWP seeks to provide an avenue for unpublished writers to showcase their manuscripts to the global literary community. Entries are submitted from all over Africa and the winner is rewarded with a cash prize of One Million Naira. This year’s entries were vetted by a panel of judges which had prominent writer Jude Idada as the head judge.

According to him, originality was one of the key criteria for judging the entries. The winner will be revealed on October 9 while the winner of last year’s contest, Akintomiwa Akinnimi will be presented with her winning book ‘Looking Glass Bullet’ by Quramo publishing.

Speaking on the theme of this year, the co-founder of Quramo Group, Gbemi Shasore said that the theme was inspired by the positive stories coming out of Africa.

“We found over the last two years that the voice of the millennials and those after them have been the strongest and I discovered that a lot of them are creatives, they are the ones starting business, they are the ones that are out there. Our music, fashion, and film are out there. We found that there are a lot of positives coming from Africa. Why don’t we talk about them?”

One of the highlights of QFEST 2022 will be the Q Conversation which will see Shasore in conversation with the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters. Q Conversation seeks to engage an accomplished creative personality in an enriching and insightful conversation that captures their journey. Last year’s guest was the prolific filmmaker Femi Odugbemi.