The Mozambican writer and journalist Eduardo Quive has been in Accra, Ghana, since Monday, participating in a creative writing workshop led by the renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The CANEX Creative Writing Workshop is being held for the first time and brings together twenty African and diaspora writers. The goal is to enhance the authors' creative techniques, promote collaboration networks, and professionalize literary work, aiming for a sustainable creative industry in Africa.
The workshop includes the participation of prominent African authors and professionals from the legal and business sectors, who provide valuable insights into the legal and commercial aspects of the writing profession. Eduardo Quive expresses his enthusiasm for being part of this select group of writers, emphasizing the importance of treating writing as a paid profession and highlighting copyrights and publishing contracts as classic forms of compensation.
For Quive, this approach is essential for exploring the possibilities surrounding a book and strengthening connections between African writers.
The event emphasizes the diversity of voices by bringing together mainly young writers from countries such as Ghana, Namibia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, Egypt, and Angola, along with established authors like Hawa Jande Golakai (Liberia), Richard Ali Mutu (Congo), Eghosa Imasuen (Nigeria), and Zukiswa Warner (South Africa). The central idea is to build ties and connect the literary productions and creatives of the continent.
Quive also reflects on the lack of information in Mozambique about African literature, citing language as a possible barrier, but primarily pointing to a lack of interest in African topics, including culture. He highlights efforts made in recent years to strengthen connections with other African countries, such as the Literatas Festival in 2015, which featured a Zimbabwean writer, and the book “O Abismo aos Pés,” resulting from interviews with African writers in 2020. Quive believes that initiatives like this workshop can significantly expand collaboration opportunities among African authors.
The Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) initiative was launched by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support and boost Africa's creative and cultural industries. The program aims to address the challenges faced by the creative economy by providing access to financing, capacity development, trade support, and investment promotion.
The CANEX Creative Writing Workshop is organized in partnership with The James and Grace Adichie Foundation, established in 2023 to support and promote the literary careers of promising writers, editors, and other creatives, in collaboration with Narrative Landscape Press Limited.
Eduardo Quive has been noted for creating opportunities for meetings, exchanges, and collective projects in the arts, particularly in literature. He recently launched the short story collection “Mutiladas” (Catalogus) and coordinates a series of monthly literary meetings in Maputo and Matola.
