Published in 2019
752 pages
Margaret Busby OBE (Nana Akua Ackon) was born in Ghana, of part-Caribbean parentage, and educated in Britain. On graduating from London University in the 1960s she became the UK’s youngest and first Black woman publisher when she co-founded Allison & Busby Ltd, of which she was Editorial Director for 20 years.
She works as a writer, editor, consultant, reviewer and broadcaster.
She has served as a judge for many literary awards (such as the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Orange Prize, the Independent Prize for Foreign Fiction and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature), and has been associated with numerous organizations, including the Africa Centre, the Royal Literary Fund, PEN, Wasafiri magazine (for which she is currently chair), the Organization of Women Writers of Africa, the African & Caribbean Music Circuit and the Hackney Empire theatre. Having won awards for her contribution to book publishing, she continues to campaign for diversity in the industry and is also the patron of Independent Black Publishers (IBP).
What is this book about?
This major new international anthology brings together the work of over 200 women writers of African descent, charts a contemporary literary canon from 1900 and captures their continuing literary contribution as never before.
A magnificent follow-up to Margaret Busby’s original landmark anthology, Daughters of Africa, this new companion volume brings together fresh and vibrant voices that have emerged in the last 25 years.
Arranged chronologically, it brings together the work of women from across the globe—Antigua to Zimbabwe, Angola to the USA—to show the remarkable range of the African diaspora. It celebrates a unifying heritage and illustrates an uplifting sense of sisterhood and the strong links that endure from generation to generation as well as the common obstacles that female writers of colour continue to face as they negotiate issues of race, gender and class.
A glorious portrayal of the richness, magnitude and range of the singular and combined accomplishments of these women, New Daughters of Africa also testifies to a wealth of genres: autobiography, memoirs, oral history, letters, diaries, short stories, novels, poetry, drama, humour, politics, journalism, essays and speeches.
It showcases key figures and popular contemporaries, as well as overlooked historical authors and today’s new and emerging writers. Amongst the 200 contributors are: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Patience Agbabi, Sefi Atta, Ayesha Harruna Attah, Malorie Blackman, Tanella Boni, Diana Evans, Bernardine Evaristo, Aminatta Forna, Danielle Legros Georges, Bonnie Greer, Andrea Levy, Imbolo Mbue, Yewande Omotoso, Nawal El Saadawi, Taiye Selasi, Warsan Shire, Zadie Smith and Andrea Stuart.
A unique and seminal anthology, New Daughters of Africa represents the global sweep, diversity and extraordinary literary achievements of Black women writers whose voices, despite on going discussions, remain under-represented and underrated.
