Australian Literature on display at GAWBOFEST
Accra, 20 September 2013 - Australia will feature as the focus country at this year’s GAWBOFEST – the Ghana Association of Writers’ Book Festival – to be held tomorrow.
Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Joanna Adamson, will address the opening ceremony alongside the Honourable Kojo Yankah, President and Founder of the African University College of Communication in Accra, on this year’s theme of “Empowering Ghana through Reading.” The Honourable Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of State for Public-Private Partnerships, will be the Special Guest of Honour.
As the country of focus, Australian literature will feature prominently throughout the festival, which brings together authors, publishers, illustrators, booksellers, bloggers, book designers, librarians, teachers, parents, children and readers in an atmosphere of education and fun to celebrate books, reading, writing, story-telling and creativity.
An Australian author resident in Ghana, Fiona Leonard, will hold a workshop on the process of publishing, and members of the Jamestown Community Theatre will perform readings of selected Indigenous Australian poetry.
The Festival is a collaboration between the Ghana Association of Writers, the Australian High Commission and the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN), with a special emphasis on the literature of Indigenous Australia.
It will take place at the Aviation Social Club on Saturday, 21 September from 9.00am to 5.30pm. Other activities will include publishers’ stands, book readings, poetry slam, storytelling, book exchanges, spelling bees and quizzes.