Excuse Us: A Book Reading

Almost on a daily basis, we experience and hear about unbelievable occurrences, most of which are thought  possible only in Nigeria. We react in different ways. Some take refuge in a pub, where they analyse it all; others take to arguments at newspaper stands; a mass voice out on social media. A statement that is often thrown around is ‘Excuse ME!’ ‘Excuse Me!’ is of course the title of Victor Ehikhamenor’s soon-to-be-released book.

Parresia Publishers invites you to EXCUSE US!, an evening with Victor Ehikhamenor, author of ‘Excuse ME!’, and Emmanuel Iduma, author of ‘Farad’, to hold at 4pm on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at Patabah Bookstore, Shoprite, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere, Lagos.

About the writers and their books

Victor Ehikhamenor is an internationally known visual artist and writer, born in Udomi-Uwessan, Edo State, Nigeria, and received his BA in English and Literary Studies from Ambrose Alli University. He holds a masters degree in Technology Management and MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland, USA. Widely exhibited at home and abroad and avidly collected the world over, Ehikhamenor has also been a regular contributor to magazines and journals on literary and social matters since the early 90’s, as well as a fiction writer. He won the 2008 Leon Forest Scholar Fiction Award, and a Breadloaf Scholarship which he turned down to join Nigeria’s NEXT newspaper, owned by Pulitzer winning journalist, Dele Olojede in 2008. He served as NEXT’s first Creative Director and maintained a weekly column in the paper which has formed the bedrock of his new book. He also briefly served as the CEO and Editor-in-Chief at Daily Times, before leaving to start his own creative and strategic communication company, VEE Global Concepts. 

About EXCUSE ME!

“The man is a true Nigerian hero. And if you won’t take my word for it, fine. Read the harvest of his essays gathered here and see for yourself why I, like many, many others, rave about this young man.” – Professor Okey Ndibe, one of Nigeria’s most outspoken intellectuals, in his introduction to the book. 

Excuse Me! is a collection of sixty-three short essays carefully selected from the very best of Ehikhamenor’s weekly article of the same name in various newspapers, chief among them NEXT, in the two years that the paper and it’s online version www.234next.com defined the pinnacle of Nigerian journalism. It contains such satirical pieces as the jaw-breaking ‘Igodomigodo Must Not Comatose’ to irony-laden ones like ‘My Vote is for Sale.’ Deliriously funny pieces like ‘Midlife Crisis and Honest Visa Application’ are together with ‘I Want a Private Jet, So Help Me God’ and ‘The Iya Eba of Berkeley Street.’ Excuse Me! is Ehikhamenor, the artist, at his best with words. 

About Emmanuel Iduma

Emmanuel Iduma is the author of critically acclaimed novella, ‘Farad.’ He works mainly as a writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and has won awards and received recognition in each genre. Emmanuel is the co-founder of Iroko Publishing, which has been publishing Saraba, an electronic magazine since February 2009. He is working on a second novel. 

Farad is reminiscent of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, Farad eases to a climax when key characters from individual stories become participants in a conflict at a University Chapel—a conflict in which the nature of power is tested. Farad is an assemblage of fresh narratives woven around simple questions and open-ended complexities. It is, ultimately, a story of love and essence.

This event is a ‘must-not-miss.’ Remember:

Venue: Patabah Bookstore, Shoprite, Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere, Lagos

Date: December 1, 2012.

Time: 4PM.