ANA Introduces Digital Publishing At 37th Convention
Yinka Kadiri, Chairman, Publicity
Management Committee, Convention LOC, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA),
Lagos (left); Yemi Adebisi, Life Editor, Independent Newspapers Ltd (second
left); Akin Adeoya, Chairman LOC, ANA 37th International convention (third
left); Adebiyi Yemi , Chairman, ANA, Lagos (third right); Don Okere, Editor,
Daily Independent (second right), and Feyi-Abiodun Oyeniyi, Public Relations
Officer, ANA, Lagos, during the sensitisation visit to Independent Newspapers’
head office in Lagos on Thursday. PHOTO: SUNDAY OLANIYAN
LAGOS – An American actor once shared that a man only learns in two
ways: one by reading and the other by association with smarter people. In
this clime, combining both means of learning is a better idea, and this is
exactly the edge that the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Convention
offers.
ANA is the official body in charge
of writers in Nigeria, and every year, the association organises a gathering of
writers both locally and internationally for a convention where ideas are
shared, knowledge acquired and newer trends established. This gathering,
usually rotated among Nigerian states will this year be hosted by the Lagos
State Chapter. Mr. Akin Adeoya, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee
(LOC), ANA 37th international convention explained during a courtesy visit by
the LOC to INDEPENDENT Newspapers Limited on Thursday, August 2 that the last time
the convention was held in Lagos was in 1995 at the University of Lagos.
“It was a sad occasion because it
was while the convention was on that we heard that the famous writer, Ken Saro
Wiwa had been hanged by the Abacha regime.
Since then, Lagos has not had the
opportunity to host the convention.
This year, we have been given the
hosting rights. We have since been working hard to deliver a world-class
convention, and in doing this, we would be short-changing ourselves if we do
not seek, the support off credible organisations.”
Speaking on the objectives of the
convention, Adeoya further shared that, “One of the major highlights of this
year’s convention is to address the state of writers in Nigeria, some of whom
cannot even earn income from their creative works. We are looking into what
technology can do for us. Beyond the talkshow, ANA Lagos is organising a
colloquium a day before the main event on digital publishing, called the Tayo
Aderinokun Colloquium on Digital Publishing, which would entail two days of
talks, discussions and papers.
The subject matter, being how
writers can take advantage of the World Wide Web to publish their works online,
earn income and also sell to a global audience.
Many of our writers here are not
aware of the opportunities that exist for this. And we want to use the
colloquium to drive home the point.”
Hon. Feyi-Abiodun Samson Oyeniyi,
Lagos State Chapter Public Relations Officer (PRO) II and spokesman for the LOC
also stated that, “The publishing industry in Nigeria has been in comatose,
pirates have taken advantage of writers in Nigeria and the income of writers
have depreciated. In other parts of the world, we know that with one book, a
writer can become a millionaire. So while we are celebrating, we want to
analyse and critically examine the industry.
We would welcome
suggestions about how government can take advantage of the industry and
grow the national income and help writers to be able to pay their tax and
fulfill their responsibilities in the nation.”
The Chairman, Lagos State ANA, Mr.
Yemi Adebiyi upon appreciating INDEPENDENT Newspapers for constantly reporting
news on ANA, explained that the writing profession in Nigeria suffers a lot and
the intent is to use the opportunity of the 37th edition of the annual international
convention to address some naughty issues.
Also to be addressed, according to
Adebiyi, is the issue of piracy since writers’ works suffers piracy among other
things. He explained that they intend to look for ways in which technology can
be employed to both protect and help authors get their content out there,
something other industries have tapped into.
Among other activities preceding the
convention, the colloquium will hold on August 23 and 24 while the Patrons’
Night will hold on the 26th at the Freedom Park.
Meanwhile, this year’s convention is
slated to hold between October 25 and 28. Apart from members from the 36 states
of the federation, other writers are coming from United States of America,
United Kingdom, Kenya, Nepal and other countries across the globe.
