Synopsis:
"Nameless is many things. It is the present we loathe. It is the past that haunts us. It is the future we want. Nameless is what we own, the things we are ashamed of, the hurt that binds us, the leaders who stain our present. Nameless is the clarity we have. It is the knowledge that things cannot remain the same. The hope that our children will only know our tears as history. It is all we must do to move us from the things that cage us to being able to fly free to a place beyond where nothing can stop us."
The book NAMELESS was written in a five-day Book sprint in November 2014 in Abuja, Nigeria.
IN THE BEGINNING
In the beginning there were eight writers with a deadline.
And their ideas were without form and void.
And the displeasure moved upon every brow
And out of the crucible of pain
Through quarrels and laughter and many drinks
They said: Let there be a book!
They articulated their pain, isolated the issues
gave themselves freedom to dream, to create
And on the fifth day,
Nameless was born.
BIOGRAPHY - WRITERS
Azeenarh Mohammed wears many hats. A project manager most of the time, a digital security trainer, queer advocate, feminist, brooding activist, wannabe hacker the rest of the time. She has found the sports that she loves and is trying very hard to let those sports kill her. When not arguing that the future will be made of bikes, trains and teleportation, she can be found walking on the wrong side of the street while explaining for the umpteenth time why she does not answer phone calls.
Chioma Agwuegbo is a social media strategist. Her background is in radio drama production, first for Aso radio and television services, and then for the BBC media action, both in Abuja. She set up CC consulting services after obtaining a Masters degree in Social Media from Birmingham City University, and has a growing portfolio of clients including the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), MTV Staing Alive Foundation (SHUGA), etc. She is also Editor of YNaija2015, a site strictly dedicated to the political news and analysis in a language young people understand.
Elnathan John is a full time writer who trained as a lawyer in Nigeria. His writing has been published in
per Contra, ZAM Magazine, Evergreen Review, Sentinel Nigeria, Chimurenga's The Chronic and The Caine prize for African writing anthology 2013 and 2014. He writes political satire for which he hopes to someday get arrested and famous. He also teaches writing. Although he has tried very hard, he has never won anything. He doesn't like mentioning it, but in 2013, he was shortlisted for the Caine Prize For African Writing, for a story many people did not like. He still wonders if it was accidental but likes the acclaim this has given him globally. He loves Twitter. One day, he will quit drinking. He is unmarried and currently attempting to lose weight. He is planning his mid-life crisis to include contemplating a tattoo and a vasectomy.
Fola Lawal is a project coordinator, environmental enthusiast, charity worker, and a social media brand-integrator for companies and individuals. Quite often, she helps writers write more profitably. These days, Fola divides her energy between managing her book-publishing business and encouraging her social media fans to save the world, one tweet at a time.
Kalu A. Aja is husband to Oma, son, father to 'the boys', and financial planner during the day. Kalu describes himself as a fiscal conservative with a strong belief in limited governments. Kalu writes part time on issues to do with governance, fiscal federalism and the efficacy of the Nigerian Federation. He also acts a life coach to many. An alumni of the Lagos Business School and the New York institute of Finance. He is a firm believer that Enyimba Football Club of Aba, Nigeria is the best football club in the world.
Pearl Osibu is a feminist, humanist, Facebook trouble maker, blog warrior, saint of peace. Pearl writes by night - fiction, nonfiction, social commentary,TV and film. You can read her work on http//pearlosibu.wordpress.com/ (Fifty Shades Of Me), http://www.sabinews.com/category/columnist/pearls-of-wisdom-with-pearl/ and Mnet/Multichoice Tinsel. By day, she designs and sews clothes. Yeah, she's multi-talented like that. You want to be on her good side. On twitter she is @pearlosibu.
Rafeeat Aliyu likes to call herself a writer. She blogs and tweets as Eccentric Yoruba and more recently Cosmic Yoruba. Under that handle, she writes for ThisDayAfrica.me and HOLAAfrica. She is also a contributor to Muslimah Media Watch and Afrimind. She is a big fan of speculative fiction, suspense and horror. And her short story Ofe! is published in the AfroSF anthology. She promises to have more speculative fiction available in the near future. When she is not writing, she enjoys reading about gender and sexuality in West African histories, listening to Kizomba, folk metal and Afro-House music. Also watching Japanese drama and enjoying African cuisine. Few things makes Rafeeat as happy as reading well-written and researched African historical fiction.
Yas Niger is a writer and a poet of Hausa origins, with strong progressive traditional views, also has a Masters Degree in Education. An activist and social Media commentator. Yas writes on contemporary Northern Nigerian and African issues, as they reflect civilized virtues. He has a preference for simple poetry and unconventional literary prose, in a removed, assertive manner. Yas reflects on secular relationships, as they relate to everyday living.
See also: https://ng.boell.org/2014/11/26/nameless