By Anote Ajeluorou
FROM being an author of several
literature books focusing on children, Mrs. Mobolaji Adenubi has taken a big
step forward in realising her dreams of making children writing books for their
kind. To realise this, she set up Splendid Literature & Culture
Foundation late last year. Now, children with
creative ability in writing can craft interesting stories for fellow children
to devour.
She anchored her new initiative on a
complaint from most Nigerian parents that goes thus about locally produced
children’s books: “We continue to buy these foreign books for our children
because we can’t find good quality books for them written by Nigerian authors.”
Taking the argument forward, she asserted, “Foreign story books for
children are admittedly attractively produced, with colourful covers, inviting
illustrations and sharp and clean print. The stories, though no better than
those written by Nigerian writers, are error free, flow smoothly, with
vocabulary appropriate for the age grades they are intended for. These imported
books are affordably priced.
“However, it is not impossible for Nigerian writers to produce
qualitative, legible, colourful, well written and culturally acceptable
children’s literature.
“The assertion that Nigerians lack a reading culture is false. What is
more correct is that Nigerian adults and children do not read much literary
works. Children consume cartoons. Adult Nigerians buy and read the many
magazines published weekly and monthly; and new ones that come into the market
regularly are sold. So we read!
“However, there is worsening use of the English Language, the country’s
official and commercial language. The inability of the young to write well in
English is linked to their lack of reading edifying books in that language,
usually storybooks”.
It is her drive to correct this anomaly that she has set up
Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation, named after her first work Splendid, which she wrote back in the 1990s. For Adenubi, “The
Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation aims to ensure that books written by young writers for children readers
satisfy parents who continue to buy books for their children, and the children
who read them. The Foundation will encourage the production of children’s
stories for ages 8 to 12 years that will entertain, enlighten, ignite their
interest in reading and stimulate their imagination.
“Above all, stories that stimulate the imagination of readers will be
encouraged. Children’s regular use of their imagination will help them develop
HOW to think, not what to think. Imagination is everything. No invention is
possible without imagination. A thing has to be imagined before it can be made.
This applies to solutions and improvement. The use of imagination will help
children think up different ways that things can be done in any circumstance.
In this fast-changing world, this is an important skill to develop and use.
“As a sub-project, the foundation will run English Language and writing
workshops for students in public schools in the long holidays in centres
designated by each state. Able, retired English language teachers will be
engaged to make these classes imaginative and fun. Much learning takes place in
playful environment!”
“The foundation will annually call for submission of imaginative works
by young Nigerian writers of children’s literature. A body of Judges, including
renowned writers, literary critics, book sellers, children readers and publishers
will be instituted to select stories that satisfy the above requirement. The
Judges will also select the illustrators for the production of the works.
“Each year, a call for entries from young authors (11-21) will be made
for unpublished works of children’s literature. The scripts received will be
reviewed by the panel of judges and six (6) will be selected for publication
under the grant arrangement. Every author thus published will be identified as
a Splendid Young Writer and each book thus published will be under the Splendid
Young Writers Series.
“Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation will carry out the
publishing activities inclusive of editing, illustration, book design,
printing, promotion and distribution of the books published by the Foundation.
“The authors whose works are published by the foundation will have
public presentations of their works, with readings, book signings and tours
arranged for them. They will receive adequate and regular royalties for their
works. The illustrators, whose contributions embellish the stories and expand
the imagination of the readers, will also be publicly recognized and adequately
remunerated.
“The foundation will ensure that its children’s books will be published
in time for these to be available for entry for the literary prizes for
children’s literature, annually awarded by the Association of Nigerian Authors
(ANA), NLNG Prize for Children’s Literature awarded every three years, and
other similar prizes. Thus, our authors will have opportunities for validation
as serious writers!
“The Foundation plans to operate nationwide to reach all
Nigerian children. Writers, and illustrators in each State will be involved in
the work of the Foundation, introducing the flavour of the cultures of their
peoples. The imagination ethos of the Foundation will permeate its work
everywhere.
“Of course, the Foundation’s books will circulate countrywide
entertaining, educating and engaging children everywhere. Because these books
will be produced in large quantities production cost will be reduced and they
will be as affordable as foreign books sold worldwide. The Foundation will
establish a distribution network, first in each State, and will link these with
those established in the other States.
“As the Foundation plans to operate in each State of the Federation the
Foundation aims to solicit government grant to encourage reading and writing
among the young there. Corporate bodies and institutions all over the
Federation will also be approached for support of this mission that will help
develop highly adaptive adult workers”.
Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation is a not for profit
company. The administration of the Foundation is vested in a Board of Trustees
that will formulate its policies. The members include an accountant, Mr. Dotun
Sulaiman, an award winning author and literary administrator, Odia Ofeimun, and
a brilliant lawyer, Mr. Lanre Adebayo.
Others are veteran publisher, Mr. Lanre Idowu, a book marketing
professional, Mrs. Ronke Orimalade, a civil engineer and IT specialist, Kemi
Adenubi (Mrs. Lemon), a medical doctor and writer, Dr. Mariam Onuzo, and a
seasoned educationist, writer and founder, Mobolaji Adenubi.
Splendid Literature calls
for entries
Young Nigerian writers from
ages 11 to 21 are invited to submit manuscripts for children’s literature from
all over the country for the Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation Series.
According to Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation,
organisers of the contest, the aim is to produce imaginative children’s stories
that will entertain, enlighten and appeal to children of ages 8 to 12, and
encourage them to read. These stories should also stimulate the imagination of
the readers to help them think in novel ways to do things.
An initiative of Mrs. Mobolaji Adenubi, who is herself a
prolific author of children’s stories, the series is designed for young writers
resident in Nigeria and that their stories should have strong Nigerian/African
content or flavour. Entries must also be original works, unaided and
unpublished fiction in English. Plays and poems are not eligible.
The work to be submitted should be between 3000 and 3,500
words long, typed written, double spaced or legibly hand written on numbered
pages. Illegible entries will be disqualified. Deadline is July 31, 2012. Six
(6) copies of the story together with evidence of Nigerian citizenship
(photocopies of birth certificate or Nigeria passport or Nigerian ID card)
should be submitted to Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation at 31 Alhaji
Tokan Street, Alaka Estate, Surulere, Lagos.
Submissions will be assessed by the foundation’s judges and
six suitable stories will be selected and published annually. She also said the
usual royalties and publication terms will apply to every story published.
Interested children’s authors should include their names,
address and telephone numbers and email address if possible on the title page
of the manuscript, with only the full name of entrant on each number page of
the submission. Entries must be submitted under the real name of the entrant;
pseudonyms may not be used. Entrant must submit only one entry
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