CFP: African Literature Comes of Age

AFRICAN LITERATURE TODAY (ALT) 40
African Literature Comes of Age
Call for Papers

The publication of the seminal volume African Literature Comes of Age, by C.D. Narasimhaiah (India) and Ernest N. Emenyonu (Nigeria), in 1988 generated the consciousness that African Literature had attained maturity by the evolution of diverse concerns among scholars, critics, and researchers over the decades following the publication, in the English language, of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in 1958. Since the publication of the first volume of African Literature Today (ALT) in the 1970s, the journal has regenerated itself 39 times, and is now set for its 40th edition. Clearly, African Literature has come of age! The proposed 40th edition of ALT is non-themed and expected to reflect as many perspectives of African literary studies as possible. The freedom that ALT 40 allows scholars speaks to the uniqueness of this volume and the strategic status of this edition after the numerous themes of the previous editions. However, submissions are encouraged to show currency because African Literature has undeniably attained new and complex attributes that cry for attention in contemporary researches. The new frontiers that African Literature has explored in recent years constitute refreshing and hitherto unimaginable epistemologies that should inform ALT 40.

The concerns of some recent editions of ALT include queer matters, children’s literature, the short story in Africa, Diaspora realities, the concept of return, Politics and social justice, Focus on Egypt, Environmental transformations, Science & Speculative Fiction, and others. ALT 40 offers scholars a platform to break new ground and explore novel issues in African Literature, especially in writings by new and budding authors. All parts of Africa have been vibrant in springing forth literary works, most of which are credible and deserving of serious critical responses. ALT 40 is the outlet through which views can be expressed to bring those writings to life.

The Editor invites articles and Literary Supplement items for ALT 40. All articles should be sent to the editor, Ernest N. Emenyonu, as an e-mail attachment (Word): eernest@umich.edu, African Literature Today, Department of Africana Studies, University of Michigan-Flint, 303 East
Kearsley Street, Flint MI 48502, USA. Fax: 001-810-766-6719

Books for review (2 copies) to be sent to the Reviews Editor: Obi Nwakanma, University of Central Florida, English Department, Colburn Hall, 12790 Aquarius Agora Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. Obi.Nwakanma@ucf.edu

Articles should not exceed 5,000 words, and reviews should not exceed 2,000 words.

All Submissions should be submitted as a Word document on or before 16 November 2021. Authors and reviewers should follow the Author Guideline for Submissions at: https://boydellandbrewer.com/search-results/?series=african-literature-today.