Research

My research interests are contemporary African writing, the marketing and publishing of contemporary writing, literary prizes and festivals, and cultural memory.

My DPhil project, supervised by Steph Newell, explores the ways in which writing by African authors published since 2000 has intervened in the creation of cultural memory. My research focuses on the rise of important new publishers and literary networks in Nigeria and Kenya during this period (including Kwani Trust, Concerned Kenyan Writers, Cassava Republic and Farafina Trust). Placing particular emphasis on the role of the publishing industry in the mediation of a collective sense of the past, the project includes close reading of texts, analysing publication histories (including imprint, cover design and marketing) and examining reception and circulation (through newspapers, websites, literary prizes, festivals and the media celebrity of the author).