Interview

Podcast #4: Ellah Wakatama Allfrey

Ellah Wakatama Allfrey is a former deputy editor at Granta magazine and former senior editor at Jonathan Cape, Random House. She has edited anthologies such as Africa 39. New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara and Safe House. Creative Non-Fiction From Africa. Allfrey has been a judge for a variety of literary prizes such as Man Booker, Dublin International Literary Award, and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. This year, she was appointed as the new chairwoman of the Caine Prize for African Writing. Furthermore, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey is the founding Publishing Director of The Indigo Press, a very exciting, fairly new-ish publisher.

We sat down in April during the African Book Festival Berlin and talked about Allfrey’s path to becoming an editor, the genesis of Safe House, queer representation, the function of literary prizes, her experiences judging the Man Booker, and last but not least, The Indigo Press’ program.

(Recorded: April 2019/ DownloadSpotifyApple Podcasts)

Photo credit: Photographed by Charlie Hopkinson at Rye Books, London.

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