Book O’Clock is a youth-led literary foundation dedicated to nurturing a culture of reading, storytelling, and creative engagement among children and young people.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
Book O’Clock, a literary nonprofit based in Sokoto, Nigeria, is partnering with the Erasmus Mundus International Master’s in Children’s Literature, Media, and Cultural Entrepreneurship (CLMCE) to host a global webinar on African children’s literature, set for 7th November 2025 from 4pm to 6pm GMT via Zoom.
The webinar will be a panel discussion with the theme “The Child in African Literature” and will bring together leading voices in children-focused literature, publishing and business from across Africa and the diaspora to “examine how African children’s literature contributes to global book markets while disrupting, enriching, and complicating dominant narratives in children’s literature scholarship.”
Moderated by Uchenna Emelife, Director of Book O’Clock and a postgraduate scholar of children’s literature, the panel discussion will revolve around the role of children in African storytelling traditions, the challenges facing children’s publishing on the continent, and the innovative interventions reshaping its future.
“African children’s literature is often dismissed as simplistic or unworthy of critical attention,” Emelife notes. “This is ironic given that African literature is deeply rooted in oral storytelling traditions, many of which were, and remain, stories for children. So, if we must talk about African literature (as we should), the place to begin is with the child, to whom our stories have long been directed.”
Speaking on the panel are Thembalethu Shangase, the Executive Director of Book Dash (South Africa); Namse Peter Udosen, a children’s author, scholar, and educator (Nigeria); Louisa Kiwana Olafuyi, co-founder of Kunda Kids (Uganda/UK); Farida Ladipo-Ajayi, a bookseller and founder of The Bookworm Café (Nigeria); and Dr. Elodie Malanda, Assistant Professor of Children’s Literature at Tilburg University (Congo/Netherlands).
Book O’Clock is a youth-led literary foundation dedicated to nurturing a culture of reading, storytelling, and creative engagement among children and young people. Founded in 2020, the organisation has established initiatives that aim to create inclusive literary experiences that reflect local realities while connecting with global conversations, such as the Sokoto Book and Arts Festival, the Book O’Clock Prize, and Literature and Film (L&F).
The “Child in African Literature” webinar is free and open to the public, with pre-registration required via Book O’Clock’s website.