Issue 1: Goodbye Thoughts Day.

This is the first letter in a series of letters to you. Find out why we're saying goodbye to Thoughts Day and all the plans I have for us.

‘You need discipline.’ That’s what I told myself last night as I snuck into bed with my phone on landscape mode to watch another episode of ‘The Office’ on Netflix. I should have been reading ‘Patsy’, the brilliant novel by Nicole Dennis-Benn instead. This isn’t a jab at the office, it’s just about skewed priorities. 

Let’s back it up a bit. 

Hello, you!

Long time, no letter. It feels like it’s been ages since I last wrote to you. In a sense it has. In my last letter, I promised one thing: to come back with value. It was the fundamental reason I went on a break. And now I’m back! Sort of. 

During my time away, I decided to revamp ‘Thoughts Day’ a little. Thoughts Day was created initially to test out my writing consistency. Now, it’s become something else entirely: to test out my reading consistency. It’ll remain short. It’ll come to your mailbox every Thursday and have a tiny section called ‘Thoughts Day’, but it’s something bigger now. 

Introducing, Book and Banter, a weekly newsletter where I curate conversations around art, culture and literature. 

Here’s what to expect when you open Book and Banter every Thursday evening.

1. Reviews and Recommendations: This section is the center of the newsletter. It’ll contain a short story or book review and recommendation - with reasons why you should read or not read it. My theory is that when it comes to art, there’s no one size fits all. A book I like might be horrible to you. You’ll find this kind of disclaimer in this section of my letter. Think of the old section ‘Ope’s reads’ but zoom-in on it. That’s right. If I’m feeling funky, I’ll review other kinds of things: booze, food, restaurants, places and experiences. It's a full package deal. 
   

2. A short interview with someone who has great insights into content creation, culture and literature. It might be a writer, a publisher, a journalist, a photographer, a wedding planner, etc. Every letter to you will be unique and of value. 
   

3. Thursday Tips - an important lesson from me. Typically something I’ve learned or am learning in my career as a writer, editor, student, moonlight lawyer. 
   

4. What’s happening aka Thoughts Day: Because I want to keep it personal and still have ‘Ope’s touch’ in this letter to you, you’ll keep seeing some of my unfiltered opinions and thoughts on social issues, culture and literature. So, Thoughts Day isn’t leaving if you think about it.

During my time away, I got three project ideas I’d like to execute under ‘Book and Banter’.

1. A paid service where I give feedback to writers who want professional feedback on their short-form work. Eventually, I’ll do longer forms - novels and things like that, but for now, I’m keeping it short. This is important to me because I constantly get DMs and emails from people to read and provide feedback on their work. Sometimes, I do, sometimes I don’t. But I’ve come to understand that editorial feedback is an important skill. What’s better? It’s a skill I have. Why not milk it? If this is something that interests you, click this button.

2. A workshop: I’ll be running three workshops during my leave in mid-August. I’m interested in teaching people everything I know about: 

• Creative writing (fiction and nonfiction)

• Starting a literary magazine or managing a blog.

 

3. Finally a podcast where I discuss with writers of all kinds. We’ll chat about their work, their process, their journey and so much more. This plan is still further down the pipeline. 

Here’s a small bonus: I was thinking recently about writers who are ignored because they haven’t published any book or won any major awards. I feel like that sometimes. Recently, I felt bad that I wasn’t invited to a festival and before this, (especially during the thick of the lockdown when everyone was having online events) I felt bad that no one asked me to come join them on a panel or bookchat about my work, as a managing editor at one of the leading publications in Nigeria (Zikoko ICYMI) or to interview me about my story ‘After The Birds’ which has opened too many doors for me (story for another day). So I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a platform where I get to discuss my work and engage with other writers to discuss their work. It’s partly the reason there’s a podcast, it’s partly the reason there’s a spotlight section in this letter. What else am I doing? Regular events (instalives and such). That’s why Book and Banter has Twitter and Instagram accounts. 

Toni Morrison who died 5th of August, 2019 gave me some of the inspiration to do this with the quote above. Not every time ‘problem’, sometimes be the solution. 

It does seem like I’m taking a lot. It also does seem like I’m magnifying the things I love and finding solutions to the problems I’m obsessed with. There are bigger, long term ideas that I’d like to execute in future, so help me God. 

Now that I’ve distilled everything I have for you, I’d like to hear from you, how are you? What are your thoughts? What would you like to see? 

Uhm, so every Thursday, expect to hear from me by 7pm on the dot. Or so.

Please stay safe, Covid-19 is still outside. ❤️