i'll be settling in for another bumpy ride on public transport in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow. the garden city literary festival jumps off in port harcourt with a book fair, writing workshops, discussions, and a conversation between nobel laureates to mark the united nations world book day. some notables among others in attendance will be: myne whitman, bibi bakare-yusuf, adaobi tricia nwaubani, helon habila, reuben abati, wole soyinka, and j.m.g. le clezio.

i have been invited to participate in helon habila's prose workshop. i am beyond thrilled about it--ecstatic, overwhelmed, and a little bit anxious. once upon a time i reviewed one of his novels for a magazine. wish i had re-read it recently, retained so little in my memory apart from a healthy respect for the man as a writer. damned if i could find a single book of his in the best bookshop in uyo (of novelists, all i found was a pirated copy of chichi's purple hibiscus--for shame!--beside every imaginable book by danielle steele and john grisham).

i am in a good place with my writing, so the fest couldn't have come at a better time. things seem to finally be moving again. i am going with the flow, will let the universe carry me wherever it may. --AL.