The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) will host the acclaimed Kenyan writer and literary activist, Yvonne Owuor, in what has been tagged an afternoon of conversation around literature, history, and status and future of Africa. The event holds at CORA Library & Resource Centre, Freedom Park, Lagos, on September 26, 2025 at 3:00pm. Admission is free and open to the public. The conversation will also be virtual.
According to a statement from CORA signed by Olakunle Fadairo, the event will be “an unforgettable literary evening, which promises to be a thought-provoking gathering for writers, readers, scholars, and culture enthusiasts. This literary and conversational gathering continues CORA’s tradition of fostering dialogue around the arts, identity, and history, creating a space where stories shape understanding and inspire new generations.”
Born 1968, Owuor is the author of novels, short stories and essays. She won the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing for her story, Weight of Whispers. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Dust (2014) and The Dragonfly Sea (2019). Her works interrogate the intersections of family, history, trauma, and the resilience of African stories in the global narrative.
Themed, A Conversation with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, it will be held under the auspices of its flagship literary campaign project, CORA BOOKTrek, in collaboration with the AIESEC Alumni Nigeria – the global platform for young people to develop their leadership potential through international internships and volunteer opportunities.
The event will feature the author reading from her award-winning book, Dust, published in 2014, as well as engaging in conversation on literature, history and the fortune of the continent with a roomful of young literary activists and enthusiasts.
The session, essentially, exploring themes from her novels and essays, ranging from colonialism’s enduring shadows to Africa’s timeless storytelling traditions, will also spotlight Owuor’s profound reflections on history, memory, colonial legacies, and the haunting presence of the past in Africa’s present and future.
It is part of the build-up to the CORA flagship programme, the Lagos Book & Art Festival, LABAF, holding November 10 to 16 at the Freedom Park, Lagos on the theme: Change: Imagining Alternatives.
Earlier on Thursday, September 25, Owuor will deliver the 2025 Omolayole Lecture OML Series at the Metropolitan Club, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. Time 2:00pm. The topic is Plotlines of Prosperity: African Stories, African Rights & African Returns.
The event enjoys the Support of Freedom Park and Hawthornden Foundation.
