Festival Guests

ADLAH ADAI, born 1978 in Muscat (Oman), studies tourism and recreational management at the college of economics management and information system at the University of Nizwa. She is interested in psychology, sociology and philosophy. She is the author of feminist fiction and essays published in Arabic newspapers, magazines and social media. She published two books Almaskunah biallahzah (Dar Masa'a 2016) and Hus (Bayt Alghasham 2018). Her third book will be published soon. Adlah Adai works and lives now in Nizwa, the city that was celebrated in 2015 as the capital of Islamic culture. She is married and has two children.

EMMANUEL AFRIYIE is a passionate, skilled, and humble Drummer based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He loves Ghana's famed Highlife music, Rnb, and he is of Ghanaian descent. He joins Mr. Reed's backing band in Germany for the first time

RENZO BAAS is a London-based post-doc fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban South Africa. He completed his PhD at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. His thesis focused on literary productions of Namibia during the colonial, the apartheid, liberation Struggle periods.

BLESZ is a songwriter, poet, DJ and MC. He writes and composes songs for himself and others. He started out as a DJ in the 90s and the name BLESZ stuck to him. BLESZ is also a member of the urban live band B.U.C. and it is here where he got more familiar with arranging music and songwriting. B.U.C. won the Dutch final of Emergenza (2017) and went on to compete in the Emergenza world final in Germany.

BRADY BLACKBURN hails from Denver, Colorado and travels frequently to Ghana where he is working with a local community to build a literacy centre and library. His poetry has appeared in two publications and he has performed at several literary conferences and events. Currently, he is a master’s student in the African Verbal and Visual Arts program at the University of Bayreuth.

ELLEKE BOEHMER is Professor of World literature in English at the University of Oxford, and a founding figure in the field of colonial and postcolonial literary studies. She is the author, editor or co-editor of over twenty books, including monographs and novels. Her praised novels include The Shouting in the Dark (2015) and Screens against the Sky (1990). Her monographs include Colonial and Postcolonial Literature (1995/2005), Stories of Women (2005), and Indian Arrivals (winner ESSE 2015-16 Prize). Elleke Boehmer is the new Director of the Oxford Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford. Her acclaimed biography of Nelson Mandela (2008) has been translated into Arabic, Malaysian, Thai, Kurdish, Portuguese, and Brazilian Portuguese. See ellekeboehmer.com

BATSIRAI CHIGAMA is a prolific poet, socio-political gender activist, and one of Zimbabwe's most well known Spoken Word artists. She is one of the female pioneers of the country's modern day spoken word craft. Batsirai's work has been featured in over fifteen anthologies including State of The Nation, and War Against War.  In 2014, Batsirai came second in the Stanza Poetry Festival Digital Slam ahead of 8 other contestants chosen from all over the world. Batsirai is passionate about providing alternative narratives to those featured in mainstream media and her work with young people includes performing and facilitating creative writing and spoken word workshops in schools.

ESTHER DISCHEREIT lives in Berlin. She has published fiction, poetry, essays and writes for radio and the stage. Dischereit has received the prestigious Erich Fried Prize in 2009. She was professor at the University of the Applied Arts in Vienna, Max Kade Writer in Residence in the US, at last professor at the University of Virginia in 2017. In the 1990s she founded the WordMusic Group. Her more recent works include Vor den Hohen Feiertagen gab es ein Flüstern und Rascheln im Haus [Before the High Holy Days the House was Full of Whistlings and Rustlings], the book adaption of a sound-installation Holocaust memorial, 2009, Großgesichtiges Kind [The Child with the Big Face], 2015. Blumen für Otello. Über die Verbrechen von Jena. [Flowers for Otello. On the Crimes which came out of Jena], 2014, are dedicated to the victims and their families of a series of racist killings and bomb attacks perpetrated in Germany between 1998 and 2007. 

EVLIS EDIAGBONYA is an accomplished musician, pianist, choir leader, and vocalist based in the Netherlands. He is of Nigerian descent and is a renowned gospel musician who tours throughout Europe. He joins Mr. Reed's backing band in Germany for the first time.

ZENA EDWARDS has been involved in performance for over 20 years – as a writer/poet performer, educator and creative project developer after graduating in Drama, Media and Communications Studies at Middlesex University. She studied at Lispa - London School of International Performance Art and has been mentoring young and emerging artists in arts vocation and creative campaigning since 2010. As a poet, Zena's writing for performance explores the creative voice immersed in issues exploring collective and personal revolution in the midst of social injustice and all its intersections. She is the Creative and Education Director for Verse In Dialogue (©ViD) and umbrella social enterprise that produces projects that focus on live literature, creative inter-generational community engagement and well being, transformational learning and liberatory practice.

TAMÁS JULES FÜTTY is a post-doc fellow, activist and creative writer. He completed his PhD in gender studies, focusing on Queer/Trans Studies, Intersectionality, Critical Migration Studies, state-violence and biopolitics. Having collaborated as a research associate for Humboldt-University Berlin and University of Bayreuth, Dr. Fütty, is currently a permanent lecturer for Gender and Diversity at the pedagogical institute at Kiel University. 

RAIMI GBADAMOSI is an artist, writer and curator. He received his Doctorate (2001) in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, London. He is a member of the 'Black Body' group, Goldsmiths College, London. He is on the Editorial board of Journal of African Studies, Open Arts Journal and SAVVY, and on the boards of Elastic Residence, London and Relational, Bristol. He is currently an associate at WISER (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Recent artist books include: incredulous; ordinary people; extraordinary people; contents; Drink Horizontal; Drink Vertical; The Dreamers' Perambulator; and four word.

HENRIETTE GUNKEL, Dr. phil., is Lecturer in the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths College. She is the author of The Cultural Politics of Female Sexuality in South Africa (2010) and co-editor of What Can a Body Do?  (2012), Undutiful Daughters. New Directions in Feminist Thought and Practice (2012),  and Futures & Fictions (2017). Currently she is working on a monograph on Alien Time which focuses on Africanist science fictional interventions.

LUKAS HEGER contributed as a Curatorial and Research Associate to the current exhibition at Iwalewahaus, Feedback: Art, Africa and the 1980s. Having studied Area Studies on Asia and Africa and Social Sciences at the Humboldt University of Berlin, he is currently finishing his Masters in Art and Curatorial Studies and Anglophone Literary- and Cultural Studies at the University of Bayreuth. He is interested in the potential of art to reflect, resist and subvert societal norms and discursive hegemonies and create new forms of thinking, imagination and experience.

ARAS HESSO has studied music in Turkey and graduated in 2013. He mainly plays the Tambur (Saz) and has participated in numerous international concerts. His Kurdish Syrian background allows him to dip into this heritage of distinct folk music. 

IPEK IPEKCIOGLU is a queer-living DJ, producer and curator, based between Berlin and Instanbul.  İpek İpekçioğlu has an established reputation across nightlife scenes worldwide. She has performed her music at the Glastonburry, Fusion, Sziget, At.tension, Berlin Festival and many more international electronic and world music festivals. Ipek has been creating a buzz amongst international crowds from New York City to the desert Sahara of Mali, developing an exclusive brand name with her unique & hybrid Soundmix and she regarded is one of the most popular DJ of the Berlin club scene and internationally as known as Queen of Eklektik BerlinIstan.

ZAINABU JALLO is a scholar, playwright and portrait photographer. Her academic and creative work have been conveyed through Fellowships at the Sundance Theater Institute, The Institute for World Literature, Harvard University, Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Residenz Theater Munich, Chateau Lavigny, House of Writers in Switzerland. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts England, and UNESCO Coalition of Artists for the General History of Africa. She is author of award winning plays, Onions Make Us Cry, Holy Night and My Sultan is a Rockstar and a Doctoral researcher at the Graduate School of Humanities, University of Bern, Switzerland. Her scholarly interests include Diaspora studies, Iconic criticism and Material Culture.

BILLY KAHORA is a Kenyan writer and editor. His stories Urban Zoning and Gorilla’s Apprentice were shortlisted for the prize in 2012 and 2014, respectively - Treadmill Love was highly commended by the judges in 2007. He has written the non-fiction novella The True Story of David Munyakei, the screenplay for Soul Boy, and co-wrote Nairobi Half Life. As Managing Editor of Kwani Trust, Kahora has edited seven issues of the Kwani journal. He is a contributing editor to the Chimurenga Chronic. Billy is a past recipient of the Chevening Scholarship and an Iowa International Writers Program Fellowship. His short story collection titled The Cape Cod Bicycle and Other Stories will be out in late 2018. 

IVES S. LOUKSON graduated from the University of Yaoundé 1 in Cameroon. Currently he is completing a doctoral thesis on contemporary South African literature at the University of Bayreuth. His main research concern is culture in its invasive sense, which he questions in Francophone and Anglophone postcolonial literatures of/about Africa. He has published a book chapter and several articles in peer reviewed journals. Le Fruit Défendu is his debut novel.

DANNY MAASKAMP is a passionate guitarist from Arnew, Netherlands. He is a consummate musician who has a wide range of influences from Rock to Blues. Latin, Contemporary, and Avant-garde. A devoted husband and father, Danny, has been performing with Mr. Reed since 2013.

DANIEL VAN DER MOLEN is a highly sought-after bassist in the music community of the Netherlands. He is well respected not only for his talent but also for his ability to bring together musicians as a musical director.  He’s very familiar with a wide range of Black and African musical styles. and he has been a member of Mr. Reed’s band since 2013.

MANAL MAHAMID is a contemporary Palestinian artist residing in Haifa. She earned her Master’s in Fine Arts at the University of Haifa in 2006, which was made possible by obtaining a scholarship of Excellence from the university. She obtained a degree in Museology and Curation from the University of Tel Aviv four years later. Mahamid works across multiple mediums, including video, installation, painting and photography. She was shortlisted for the A.M Qattan Young Artist of the Year Award in 2002. She is a recipient of the 2007 Delfina Foundation's Resident Artist Award as part of the Riwaq Biennale, which was collaboration between the Delfina Foundation and the A.M. Qattan Foundation. She has also participated in residencies in the UK, Germany and Egypt.

ROSHNI MOONEERAM is an Associate Professor and a Global Research Consultant for Africa for Nottingham University. Roshni provides consultancy services to regional and international organisations in policy matters, research and analysis, strategic communication and talent development in the public and corporate sectors. Roshni also delivers leadership coaching programmes for women in Technology and Banking sectors, and she is a volunteer at the Action Tank, Smart Citizen, and the Council of Religions. Her forthcoming historical novel focuses on the conflicting voices of empire including voices of women and those of slaves.

MALCOLM MUGA is a photographer, film producer and creative director. His work is influenced by mythology from around the world. He is currently focusing on spirituality and male sensual expression and is fascinated by the juxtaposition of unexpected items on physical body-scapes. 

KAWIRA MWIRICHIA is a queer African-female visual artist with an innate desire to change the world through beauty that inspires and educates the communities. Over the years, Kawira has worked as an artist within the Kenyan LGBT community and striven for a high level of virtuosity in her own work. Her latest project, To Revolutionary Type Love (2017) is another example of her diverse use of medium (the kanga) and unique level of expression. This project aims to celebrate Queer Love through the demonstrative narrative of each country’s LGBTQIA milestones through symbols and beautiful quotes.

OBIOMA NNAEMEKA is Chancellor’s Professor of  French/Francophone Studies, Gender/Women’s  Studies and African/African Diaspora Studies and  former Director of the Women’s Studies Program  at  Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA. Professor  Nnaemeka is the President of the Association of  African Women Scholars and the President/CEO of  the Jessie Obidiegwu Education Fund. She was a  Rockefeller Humanist-in-Residence (University  of  Minnesota) and has held several distinguished  visiting professorships, including The Edith  Kreeger-Wolf Distinguished Visiting Professor  (Northwestern University, Evanston), and Verne  Wagner Distinguished Visiting Professor  (University of Kansas, Lawrence). She has received  numerous national and international awards and  is a member of the Board of Directors of numerous  international nongovernmental organizations  (NGOs) and on the Advisory Board of several refereed scholarly journals. She is the author of  over sixty scholarly articles and book chapters,  editor of the ten-volume Women in Africa and the  African Diaspora; and author/editor of eight books,  including Agrippa d’Aubigné: The Poetics of Power  and Change; Shaping Our Struggles: African  Women in Imperialist  Discourses; Sisterhood,  Feminisms, and Power: From Africa to the  Diaspora; and Women, Creativity and Dissidence. 

ONOOKOME OKOME studied at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and is professor of Anglophone African Literature and Cinema at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has collaborated to three edited books on Nigerian literature. Global Nollywood: An African Video Film Industry (Indiana University Press, 2013), and Popular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of Everyday Life (Routledge, New York, 2014), to mention but a few. His most recent essay on Nollywood is "Islam et Cinema en Afrique de l'ouest"(Tresor de Islam en Afrique. Paris: Silvania Editoriale, 2017). Having been a fellow of the Salzburg Seminar, right now he is working at Bayreuth University as Alexander von Humboldt-scholar. 

YEWANDE OMOTOSO is a South-African based novelist, architect, and designer, who currently lives in Johannesburg. Her two published novels, Bom Boy (2011) and The Woman Next Door (2016), have earned her considerable attention. Her debut novel, Bom Boy, won the 2012 South African Literary Award for First-Time Published Author, and was the runner-up for the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature. The Woman Next Door was longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award. Omotoso has contributed stories and poetry to various publications, among them Speaking for the Generation: Contemporary Stories from Africa, Contemporary African Women’s Poetry, and the 2012 Caine Prize anthology. Omotoso is particularly interested in the complexity of human experiences and emotions, and the incongruities of life where loneliness is a recurring theme.

SWEET PEANUTS AND FRIENDS is an international musical collective formed in Berlin. Their music is formed by authentic blend of american jazz, blues, soul, and roots music, all bringing echoes of howling old souls fresh to your front steps. Regularly featuring special guests from different corners of the world, Sweet Peanuts and Friends are guaranteed to bring a smile to your ears. Their memorable performances include Yorckschlösschen, Bar Tausend, Urban Spree, Tech Open Air Festival Berlin, Cafe Cinema, and Heimathafen Neukölln, to name but a few.

MR. REED brings the Recession Free Music Tour to Bayreuth, Germany on June 27, for the close out of BIGSAS African and African-Diasporic Literatures Festival 2018. Mr. Reed has been a featured performer at multiple African-diasporic themed events, at such venues as New York City's famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, La Mama Experimental Theatre, CultureHub NYC, The Asia Society and Gettysburg, Virginia's, Gettysburg College, as well as at BIGSAS 2016 festival with Dj Spooky. Mr. Reed is currently on tour from May 2018 - December 2018 for a festival season that will cross from North America to Africa and Europe.

SHEILA RUIZ is Deputy Director at the Royal African Society (RAS). She joined the RAS in September 2011 as the Events Programme Manager and helped set up Africa Writes in 2012. Prior to working for the RAS, Sheila was the Communications and Programming Consultant for the Africa Centre and previously worked as a freelance events producer for various arts projects in London. Sheila holds an MA in African Studies from SOAS and a BA in History from UCL. She is of mixed Spanish/Equato-Guinean heritage and is bilingual in Spanish and English. She tweets at @SheilaRuiz

LUKAS SAUER completed his Bachelor's degree in Stuttgart, and moved to Bayreuth for his Master's studies in Computer Science, currently working on his thesis. Aged 23, he has been playing Saxophone as a hobby for close to fifteen years and has occasionally participated in small performances and students' projects.

ULRICH SCHREIBER is the founder and director of the International Literature Festival Berlin and the co-director of the International Literature Festival Odessa. Schreiber apprenticed as a mason and later gained his GCE by attending evening school. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Russian at the Free University of Berlin from 1973 to 1981 and completed his teacher training in Celle in 1984. In 1989, he founded the "Internationale Peter Weiss-Gesellschaft" which he presided over until 1998. Furthermore, Schreiber is one of the founders of the PEN World Voices festival, The New York Festival of International Literature, and one of the organizers of literary festival in Mumbai in 2007. He also runs the World-Wide Reading series since 2006.

TONI STUART is a South African poet, performer and spoken word educator. Her work has been published in anthologies, journals and non-fiction books locally and abroad. Her performances include, I Come To My Body As A Question, with flamenco company dotdotdot dance (London 2016. 2017); a group show at the Paris Autumn Festival 2013 (as part of France South Africa Seasons 2012/2013), poetry installation Here To Listen (London, 2015), poetry & film exhibition From My View with filmmaker Shelley Barry (South Africa, 2013); Stretching Silence with visual artist Firdous Hendricks (South Africa, 2013); sound installation Between Words and Images with curator & visual artist Ernestine White (South Africa, 2013). In 2014 was part of the Scottish Poetry Library’s Commonwealth Poets United exchange. In 2013 she was named in the Mail and Guardian’s list of 200 inspiring Young South Africans. She has an MA Writer/Teacher (Distinction) from Goldsmiths, University of London, where she was a 2014/2015 Chevening Scholar. She is one half of international poetry/music duo Gertrude & Jemima with UK poet/drummer Remi Graves. She was the founding curator of Poetica, at Open Book Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.

NAJEM WALI, born 1956 in Basra (Iraq),  was imprisoned and tortured for being a dissident. He took refuge in Germany in 1980 after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. In 1988 he finished his degree in German Studies in Hamburg and began studying Spanish Literature at the Complutense University of Madrid. He was the cultural correspondent for one of the most important Arabic newspapers Al-Hayat for a long time and writes regularly for german newspapers like Süddeutsche Zeitung, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, TAZ and Der Spiegel. He published numerous novels and stories. His book Bagdad Marlboro, for which he received the Bruno-Kreisky-Prize for political writing was recently published by the Carl Hanser Verlag just like Bagdad. Errinerungen an eine Weltstadt (2015). His books are translated into multiple languages. In February 2018 his most recent novel Saras Stunde was also published by the Carl Hanser Verlag. Today Wali lives and works as freelance journalist in Berlin.

FAITH WANJALA is a visual artist born in Kenya and working in Nairobi. They explore themes that may be interpreted to be of mental health, gender and sexuality through self– portraiture as my major form of artistic expression, as both the subject and object in experimental yet mediated art works.
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