Quramo Publishing, the independent book publishing company, has partnered with the Irish Embassy for its 2023 Festival of Words (QFest).
The QFest, presented by Quramo Publishing Ltd., is an annual literary and arts festival that attracts emerging and creative literary enthusiasts across Nigeria and Africa.
This year’s edition, tagged ‘Connecting The Dots’, is the organisation’s 7th festival which is aimed at initiating and strengthening communication, travel, and distribution networks.
QFest is scheduled to be held between October 4 and 8 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
The five-day event will include activities like workshops in storytelling, scriptwriting, digital marketing, and wellness of creatives.
The highlight of QFest 2023 is the unveiling of the Quramo Writers Prize (QWP) winner who gets a publishing deal and a cash prize worth millions of naira.
Speaking with journalists at a media parley, Gbemi Shasore, the convener of QFest, said this year’s edition focuses on “opportunities for creatives and stakeholders in film, literature, theatre, media, and publishing space to interact, identify, and explore collaborations across border”.
She said the annual Quramo Writers’ Prize is to address the challenges with the Nigerian educational system.
She added that the Irish embassy will sponsor this year’s workshops.
“What I have learnt is that Nigeria is in dire need of revamping our educational system. Because year in and year out, we talk about connecting the dots. Distributing those holes. It is something that we have to address and will be addressed,” she said.
“The primary concern for the winners is to boost their confidence and their morale. And to let everybody know that everybody has a story to tell and we are here to tell it at Quramo.
“Second is distribution, within Nigeria is not easy. Much less within Africa and the world. So that is what we want to address.
On her part, Aduke Gomez, the QFest curator, said the festival will feature the famous Irish festival called ‘Siama’.
Gomez, representing the Irish embassy, added that the festival will “deepen the cultural ties between both countries”.
“A Siamsa is an Irish tradition where members of the community come together to tell stories. And why the ambassador is very keen to introduce this event to QFestival is because of course in Nigeria, we have the tale by moonlight tradition and culture as well,” she said.
“So one of the things to replenish the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria as a vision is deepen the cultural ties between both countries.”
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