Interviews Archives

‘Almost All Great Writing Comes from Disciplined and Ambitious Readers’ Howard W. French’s First Draft

Howard W. FrenchJanuary 14, 2022

Journalist, professor and author of ‘Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War’, Howard W. French, spent ten years researching the book. Read our interview.

Best of 2022: First DraftDecember 21/January 22First DraftInterviewsUnited States

‘I Can Never Get Bored of Writing About Sex’ Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah’s First Draft

Nana Darkoa SekyiamahDecember 17, 2021

Author of 'The Sex Lives of African Women' and co-founder of Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, will never stop writing about sex. Read our interview.

Best of 2021December 21/January 22First DraftGhanaInterviews

‘What We Read Lives in Our Heads’ Sangu Delle’s First Draft

Sangu DelleDecember 10, 2021

Entrepreneur, investor and author of ‘Making Futures: Young Entrepreneurs in a Dynamic Africa’, Sangu Delle, thinks success is ‘overhyped’ and has been studying how people fail. Read our interview.

December 21/January 22First DraftGhanaInterviews

‘I Now Know How to Write in Short Bursts.’ Ainehi Edoro-Glines’ First Draft

Ainehi Edoro-GlinesDecember 3, 2021

Academic and founder and editor of Brittle Paper, Ainehi Edoro-Glines, has often heard that the African novel is simply the European novel with African themes. Read our interview.

December 21/January 22First DraftInterviewsNigeria

‘There’s Always Something New to Learn.’ Michael Elegbede’s First Draft

Michael ElegbedeNovember 26, 2021

Head Chef at ÌTÀN Test Kitchen, Michael Elegbede, grew up in a family of chefs. The last book he enjoyed was Life, On The Line by Grant Achatz. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsNigeriaOctober/November 2021

This photo is for our interview with Simukai Chigudu

‘I Liked to Think of Myself as a Cool, Distant Observer of the World’ Simukai Chigudu’s First Draft

Simukai ChiguduNovember 19, 2021

Academic and author of The Political Life of an Epidemic: Cholera, Crisis and Citizenship in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu, is expanding his writing beyond traditional academic work and into narrative nonfiction. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsOctober/November 2021Zimbabwe

‘Assume Knowledge.’ Chika Unigwe’s First Draft

Chika UnigweNovember 12, 2021

Author of 'On Black Sister’s Street' and ‘Head Above Water: Scanning Buchi Emecheta’s Oeuvre’, Chika Unigwe, believes it is important for an author to know as much as possible about the characters they are writing about. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsNigeriaOctober/November 2021vol5-no4

‘Writing a Novel Is Fun.’ Peace Adzo Medie’s First Draft

Peace Adzo MedieOctober 29, 2021

While writing her novel, ‘His Only Wife’, Peace Adzo Medie, discovered Toni Morrison’s quote, ‘If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsOctober/November 2021

‘Criticism Helps Us Grow.’ Elizabeth Ben-Iheanacho’s First Draft

Elizabeth O. Ben-IheanachoOctober 22, 2021

Critic and author of ‘Achebe’s Women’, Elizabeth Ben-Iheanacho, wishes more authors appreciated the productive purpose of criticism. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsNigeriaOctober/November 2021vol5-no4

‘Revolution Is a Collective Act.’ Lanaire Aderemi’s First Draft

lanaire aderemiOctober 15, 2021

Writer and author of ‘Egba Women Unite!’, Lanaire Aderemi, wants to correct the misconception that African revolutions revolved around elite individuals. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsOctober/November 2021