‘My Writing Process is Excruciating!’ Max Siollun’s First Draft

Historian, author of What Britain Did to Nigeria and ‘The Wizard of Kirsten Hall’, Max Siollun, thinks that most people have the wrong perception of pre-colonial Africa: ‘Many people do not realize that many Africans were literate, educated, and lived in complex societies with democratic governments, and even had international diplomatic relations with each other and with European countries.’

First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.

Our questions are italicized.

What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?

I had eclectic reading tastes as a child. I was a voracious reader and read things as varied as folk-tales, history, sci-fi, sportsbooks, and even comics!

If you could rewrite a classic book/text, which would it be and why?

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