I have been making a list of Ghanaian authors who do creative writing/fiction/plays/poetry and these are the ones I came up with. It is very much a personal list, and I have read most of them.
NB: This is work in progress, and I am more than happy to admit that I will have forgotten some people. Most long works are available via Amazon – though sometimes it may not be the US Amazon, but the UK or Canadian one! For short stories I have not indicated any collections, for which I do apologize in advance.
Older writers (many are deceased)
- Kobina Sekyi: The Blinkards ( play)
- Ayi Kwei Armah: The beautyful ones are not yet born, Two thousand seasons, The healers, Fragments (plus some literary criticism, which I have not included)
- Amu Djoleto: The strange man, Money Galore, Hurricane of dust + some children’s books
- Efua Sutherland: Marriage of Anansewa, Edufa, Voice in the forest - Wrote plays mostly
- Francis Selormey: Narrow Path
- Kofi Awoonor: This earth my brother + some non-fiction
- Mawugbe, Efo Kojo: The prison graduate . Wrote plays mostly
Older (in age) and still active
- Ama Ata Aidoo: Changes, Our sister Killjoy, Anowa, Dilemma of a ghost, No sweetness here, Diplomatic pounds and other stories, African love stories (ed), Angry letter in January
- Kojo Laing : Search sweet country, Woman of the aeroplanes, Big Bishop Roko and the alter gangsters, Major Gentl and the Achimota wars
- Manu Herbstein : Ama, Brave music of a distant drum
- Atukwei Okai: Poet
- Kofi Anyidoho : The place we call home, Praise song for the land. Poet
More contemporary (part of Ghanaian diaspora)
- Benjamin Kwakye: The clothes of nakedness, The sun by night, The other crucifix
- Nii Ayikwei Parkes: Tail of the blue bird, The makings of you
- Mohammed Naseehu Ali : Prophet of Zongo Street and other stories
- Kwei J Quartey: Wife of the gods, Children of the street
- Yaba Badoe : True murder
- Marilyn Heward Mills: Cloth girl, The association of foreign spouses
- Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond: Powder necklace
- Akosua Busia: Seasons of beento blackbird
- Lesley Lokko: Sundowners, Bitter chocolate, One secret summer, A private affair, Rich girl, poor girl. Architect, who also writes chick lit
- Selasi Taiye : Ghana must go (To be published in 2012) + well acclaimed short stories
- Esi Edugyan: Half-blood blues, The second life of Samuel Tyne. Canadian, born of Ghanaian immigrants
- Glover, Boakyewaa: Circles
- Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe: Writing memoir; creative non-fiction mostly
More contemporary (living in Ghana)
- Amma Darko: The housemaid, Faceless, Beyond the horizon, Not without flowers
- Camynta Baezie: The African agenda
- G A Agambila: Journey
- Ayesha Harruna Attah: Harmattan rain
- Meri Nana-Ama Danquah: The black body, Willow weep for me, Shaking the tree, Becoming American. Writes mostly non-fiction
- Farida Bedwei: Definition of a miracle
- Mamle Kabu: writes short stories
- Franka Andoh: writes short stories
- Alba Konadu Sumprim : The imported Ghanaian, A place of beautiful nonsense. Both are satirical
- Kofi Akpabli: A sense of savannah, Tickling the Ghanaian. Writes creative non-fiction
- Nana Awere Damoah: Tales from different tails, Excursions in my mind, Through the gates of thought
Non-Ghanaians (with close associations to Ghana)
- Ellen Banda-Aaku: Patchwork, Wandi’s little secret. Also writes short stories
- Fiona Leonard: The chicken thief
- Sarah Mussi: Door of no return, The last of the warrior kings. Teen/children’s fiction
What do you think of this list?
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You missed Martin Egblewogbe. Otherwise, a good list. I will come back if more occur to me.
Ouch! Several heads are definitely better than one!
An excellent list….what about those writers who have written columns, features, op-eds and the rest of such stuff and SHONE for years with blinding brilliance. Sometimes they impacted the popular consciousness even more than the “book” writers.
Older, some deceased
Paul Ansah’s column in the Ghanaian Chronicle. A masterpiece which took on the powers that be without flinching.
Cameron Dodoo has been active in a variety of media especially magazines like The New African.
Kwesi Yankah’s Woes of Kwatriot column was a regular staple of the Mirror. Satire at its most witty.
Eben Quarcoo’s pieces lit up the pages of Tommy Thompson’s(cannot remember the name) newspaper.
Contemporary, active; semi-active
Kwaku Addo Sakyi-Addo his column Back to Kokomlele which appeared regularly in the Ghanaian Chronicle was sublime; his last column which appeared in the Accra Daily Mail was called Rear View. He has written tomes of work for Economist, the Guardian, BBC Focus on Africa magazine, etc.
Alhaji Harruna Atta’s Taking Issues Column which appeared regularly in the Statesman was crafted in the heavens. Irreverent, pulsating and a sheer delight of penmansip he affected the national conscience week after week with his biting pieces which spoke bitter truth to power.
Gabby Otchere-Darko’s Quanawu Column also appeared in the Statesman newspapers. Acrid, blazing and very sweetly crafted pieces. Gabby is still very active in the Daily Guide newspaper.
Audrey Gadzekpo’s pieces appeared in the Chronicle newspaper and the Mirror as well. She tended to deal with weighty policy matters and the mundane, commonsensical stuff that politicos simply missed.
Baffour Ankomah whose trenchant pieces appear in the New African magazine.
And as I mentioned on your blog there are those who used to write columns for the Pioneer newspaper in Kumasi: Antiochus (the late Joe Appiah) and Yaa Asantewaa (Valerie Sackey before she moved to the Castle)
This is a good list, a resource for those who want to read some Ghanaian Literature. Now there is no excuse. I’ve read some of them but definitely not 50%.
I’ll add Elizabeth-Irene Baetie: A Saint in Brown Sandals; & The Twelfth Heart.
Of course, how could I forget? I also realize that I had not included Peggy Appiah
Thanks for the inclusion!
A pleasure!
Thanks for the mention!
Nana Damoah
Thanks for the mention!
Getting on this list just became my goal for the year!
Are you a writer? If so, all the best!
you forgot Empi Baryeh
True… what does she [am I correct?] write?
she writes romance and is publisned by Black Opal Books. this is the link to her block.
empibaryeh.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/book-cover-unveiled-chancing-faith/
thanks.
A fine list. I’ve read a good number of the works mentioned. The late Efo Kojo Mawugbe was famous for the paly In the Chest of a Woman, which was omitted.
I remember Kobena Eyi Acquah, a poet, Kwakuvi Azasu for the The Stool, Kate Abbam of Obaa Sima fame and Asare Bediako for A Woman in Her Prime. Asabea Ashun, for Mistress of the Game and Serwaa Akoto’s Diary. (The authour lives in Canada)
I am really happy to hear of more Ghanaian authors – definitely I missed out several who write/wrote for younger readers. And also to discover more Ghanaian book lovers who blog/tweet
What a fantastic list! I’ll certainly be coming back to it to look for more authors to try out in the future. Thanks so much for this.