About us

About InterKontinental e.V.

InterKontinental e.V. is a state approved non-profit and politically independent association based in Berlin since 2018. The association’s goal is to promote literature from Africa as well as writers from African countries in Germany.

We facilitate literary events and design innovative concepts. Our work is based on an equal collaboration and exchange between Germany and the countries of the African continent and its diaspora. To ensure that, all our projects are curated by our African partners. Through books and stories, we aim at creating a dialogue between the continents and its people in order to contribute to work against prejudices, stereotypes, inequalities, neo-colonial structures and ultimately racism and discrimination.

In addition to the African Book Festival presented yearly, we also organize book launches, conversation series, readings, theatre and spoken word performances. We had a diversity of authors from the African continent and its diaspora as guest: among them were for instance Panashe Chigumadzi, Yaa Gyasi, Emmanuel Iduma, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Elnathan John, Niq Mhlongo, Yvonne Owuor Adhiambo.

Next to literary events, we are working on more innovative literary projects such as a literary podcast, a digital graphic novel workshop for young people and literary workshops in Cameroun. Find out more about our current projects here.

Since its founding, InterKontinental has become an important promoter of African literature in the German-speaking literary scene. We partnered for instance with many literary institutions such as the Foundation Jan Michalski, numerous political foundations such as Rosa Luxemburg and Heinrich Böll, Literaturhaus Berlin, litprom, the Literaturhaus München, the Residenz Verlag or the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

If you want to directly contribute to our work and the promotion of African literature in Germany, we would be happy to have you as a member! Members get reduced or free entrance to all our events as well as exclusive access to authors and artists. Sign up here to become a member.

Interkontinental Bookstore

InterKontinental bookstore

in Berlin-Friedrichshain, Sonntagstr. 26, near S Ostkreuz

and in our online shop:

www.interkontinental.org

Current Projects

New Daughters of Africa

NEW DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA – THE PODCAST

Our latest project is a homage to the ground-breaking anthologies

Daughters of Africa and New Daughters of Africa

edited by Margaret Busby, containing essays, short prose, poetry and memoires each containing more than 200 female authors from Africa and its global diaspora. The podcast series will focus on Black female authors and their work, perspectives and sources of inspiration. The focus is on political and social topics such as gender roles, feminism and empowerment and how they are renegotiated within literature.

The series is curated and hosted by Panashe Chigumadzi, a journalist, columnist and author born in Zimbabwe who grew up in South Africa.

Her debut novel Sweet Medicine and her Essay Theses Bones Will Rise Again

were critically acclaimed. She is the founding editor of VANGUARD magazine, a platform for young Black women in South Africa and was the curator of the first Soweto Abantu Book Festival in 2015. Currently, Panashe is a doctoral student at Harvard University.

Panashe Chigumadzi

In the first episode Panashe kicks off with editor Margaret Busby herself. Followed by intriguing conversations with Carolyn Cooper, Professor Emerita of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Angolan-Portuguese novelist and essayist Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Ayesha Harruna Attah, author of novels for adults as well es young adults from Ghana, and Doreen Baingana, author of short stories and novels and literary activist from Uganda.

Listen Here

PANDE.ME

Pande.Me is a digital workshop for young people passionate about writing and drawing. Participants from Germany and West African countries will work in tandems on short comics and illustrations representing the impact of the pandemic has had on their lives.

They will learn the basics of storytelling, character development, concept design and visual realization. Their works will be presented in Berlin at the end of the year and in form of a digital publication.

Edwige-Renée Dro

The project is curated and led by Edwige Renée-Dro and Adrian Wilkins. Edwige Renée-Dro is a writer, translator and literary activist from Ivory Coast. Her work was published in various magazines as well as in the anthology New Daughters of Africa by Margaret Busby. She co-founded the literary collective Abidjan Lit and recently opened a public library in Abidjan, which focuses on the work of female authors from Africa and the Black diaspora.

Adrian Wilkins is an illustrator and concept artist in the film and video game industry, focusing on character and costume design. He has worked on projects for Marvel Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Riot Games, Harper Collins Publishing and many others. He also teaches character design at the School 4 Games vocational school.

Adrian Wilkins

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