Udenwe, Liam and Okokoh for Ebedi Residency

The writers who have already commenced their six weeks residency are Obina Udenwe, Paul Liam and Koko Okokoh.Obinna Udenwe is a 26 year old writer of conspiracy theories who was honoured on May 29 2014 by his native Ebonyi State for his outstanding literary activities. As the Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi put it during […]

The writers who have already commenced their six weeks residency are Obina Udenwe, Paul Liam and Koko Okokoh.
Obinna Udenwe is a 26 year old writer of conspiracy theories who was honoured on May 29 2014 by his native Ebonyi State for his outstanding literary activities. As the Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi put it during the award ceremony; ‘ Obinna Udenwe’s impressively meticulous literary documentation places him ahead of his contemporaries’.  
Udenwe’s first novel ‘The Dancing Bird’ was published in 2009 while  ‘Satans and Shaitans’ – a conspiracy theory on terrorism, love and occult, is scheduled to be released in the UK in October, 2014 by Jacaranda Books.
Udenwe will use his time at the Ebedi Residency, to complete work on his new novel ‘Viaticum’ – a novel set against the backdrop of the civil war in Sudan, and the period of pre-democracy and democracy in Nigeria.
The second writer, Paul Liam an indigene of Benue State, is the Assistant Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Niger State Chapter. He is also a columnist with Newsline Newspapers, Minna and has published several literary essays in national dailies.
His debut poetry collection; ‘Indefinite Cravings’ was published in 2012. His second poetry collection; ‘Saint Sha’ Ade And Other Poems’ was recently released by Kraft Books. Paul will use his time in Ebedi, to complete a poetry manuscript titled ‘Armageddon Blues’.
According to Paul ‘Armageddon is a collection of about sixty-something poems inspired by the chaos that have engulfed the nation, and I have been working on it since 2012. But, I have not been able to concentrate and finish it due to several distractions.’
Paul will also use his stay in Iseyin to conduct a creative writing workshop for school children and probably generate an anthology of poems from the workshop. As he put it; ‘I have great passion in the development of the intellectual capacities of the younger ones for a productive society. It is because of this passion that I am a Mentor and the Public Relations Manager of the Hilltoparts Centre, Minna, Niger State’.
Karo Okokoh the third author is a published author with several titles in poetry and drama. He is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan where he bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.  He is based in Agbarho, Warri, Delta State. Okokoh hopes to use his time in Ebedi to complete work on his new novel titled “The Forgotten Tomorrow’’ a novel based on the well-known problem of oil spillage in the Niger Delta Region. It is a problem which the author describes as “a brutally big and mournfully monotonous cycle of violence in the Niger Delta… a cycle of violence that is continually being re-cycled again and again… a familiar pattern of recurring violence and recurring sadness’.
Apart from working on their manuscripts and mentoring Secondary Students in Iseyin, the residents will also use the period of their stay in Ebedi to edit and publish the maiden edition of THE EBEDI REVIEW. As the writers put it; ‘The need for the Ebedi Review was conceived out of the dire need to provide a comprehensive information resource on the Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin.  The primary objective is to provide a channel of communication between the residency and the outside world in order to accentuate its relevance. The Review therefore, seeks to articulate the activities of the residency since its inception and provide an overview of its existence to those who may have not had the privilege of knowing about it or visiting it.’
The Ebedi International Residency Program is a private initiative for the benefit of writers who want to complete their on going works in a secluded and comfortable environment. In its fourth year of existence, the residency which is managed by a Board Of Directors has played host to about 40 international writers and is run at no cost to the writers.