Two female writers, Amina Aboje and Elsie Oghenekaro, will take centre stage at the February 24, 2018, Guest Writers’ Session of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF).
A statement signed by Edith Yassin, on behalf of the AWF, said the event which will hold at Aso Hall of Nanet Suites by 4pm, would also features readings, question and answer session, live music and a raffle-draw for books.
The statement disclosed that one of the guests, Amina Aboje, was born in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital and had her primary education in Buguma, Kalabari Kingdom.
Amina, who holds a first degree in Biochemistry and is currently running a post-graduate course at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, discovered the delight of reading as a little girl, the statement said.
Her short stories have featured in some online literary journals like Dugwe and Lunaris Review, just as her poems and short stories have severally topped the Abuja Writers Forum Writing Challenge series. Amina won the Mandela Day Poetry Prize in 2016 and finished third place in the poetry category of the maiden edition of the Communicators League writing contest.
She is among several writers featured in the soon to be published Best New African Poets 2017 Anthology.
Similarly, Elsie Dennis Oghenekaro started her journey into writing in the very early 90s, when she worked as a reporter for newspapers and magazines, including Abuja’s first newspaper, Abuja Newsday.
She later veered off into diplomatic circles as Liaison Officer for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a position which helped her horn her writing skills.
Leaving the Red Cross, she worked with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and several other organizations and subsequently runs her own travel business as well as other businesses.
After a 10-year absence from Abuja with her family, she finally came back to the city she considers home in 2012 and has since focused on her writing and literary consulting.
Under the nom-de-plum Elsie O. Dennis has written several books for young children as well as several novels and inspirational books. She runs reading NGO for urban ghettos and trains young people on how to live a more meaningful life.
Mrs Oghenekaro is passionate about the Nigeria project and speaks on issues concerning the girl-child, women empowerment and the Nigeria of her dream.
A mother of five children, her hobbies include travelling, cooking, reading, and is currently working on her MBA. She is a craftsman of the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild USA, and considers writing as her life’s purpose.
The monthly Guest Writer Session also features various interventions by the AWF which include a creative writing workshop series, weekly critique sessions and an online literary journal, DUGWE (see www.dugwe.com).
