I have always been surrounded by books. I have also always been surrounded by examples that point towards women’s solidarity towards one another. Some of my earliest memories involve discussing books with my parents. I also remember attending women only meetings with my mother. As an English teacher, she constantly brought books and novels home. Most of my introduction to contemporary African fiction and authors like Doreen Baingana and Marilyn Heward Mills was courtesy of her.

Now, although I was always surrounded by books, I became aware of the concept of book clubs in Nigeria much later. Through social media apps like Twitter and Instagram, as a budding feminist teenager, I was introduced to the fact that people could plan regular virtual and physical meetings to discuss books and bond over books.

Asides social media apps, I was also introduced to women focused book clubs when I worked at a women’s NGO as an intern. As part of the activities geared towards the women professionals in the network, there were regular book club meetings to discuss issues.

Book clubs in Nigeria and being a member of a book club are both fast becoming a necessary aspect of reading culture in Nigeria. The feminist movement is also becoming more intertwined with literary circles and, in particular, book clubs. With book clubs, more women and women led book clubs are seeking support and advocating for women’s issues by the very act of finding community through books.

When women focused and women led book clubs are discussed in Lagos, two book clubs come to mind. The first one is Women’s Group Lagos which is a women’s only book club that holds physical meetings and has a virtual support community. Founded by Mayowa Omogbenigun, it is a group that meets monthly for physical meetings to discuss books. What is interesting about Women’s Group Lagos, is that asides the tickets bought for each meeting, members are also encouraged to bring sanitary aid materials. These materials are then donated to organisations working to end period poverty in Nigeria.

When asked the motivations behind her creating Women’s Group Lagos, Ms. Omogbenigun said that she noticed that making friends in adulthood could be tough and she wanted to address that. She said: “I wanted to create an avenue for friendship and community. At university I was a member of book clubs and enjoyed the conversations I had and also met women who I know will be lifelong friends. This inspired me to create a community of like-minded women in the form of a book club.”

She went on to say that book clubs are important because they create a space to connect over a shared passion/ hobby (reading) while also creating a safe space for women. To her, they are also a low-cost way to socialise and form friendships with women you might not have met otherwise.

The second book club is Yanga Book Club which holds physical meetings and is led by Chinwendu Nwangwa, a writer and feminist. Open to both men and women, the book club has at its core the promotion of books written by Africans and women. In it, asides book discussions, there is also space for Open Mics where budding creatives can come to showcase their work.

 

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Yanga Book Club is not the only literary initiative started by Ms. Nwangwa. She also joined Ore Eni-Ibukun, a writer and feminist, too, to kickstart Northstar Library which aims to improve the accessibility of books in Nigeria. 

Due to the influx of technology, one also observes that asides physical book clubs, virtual book clubs are also becoming very popular. Three book clubs come to mind. The first is the Happy Noisemaker Book Club which is founded by Jola Ayeye, a podcaster, blogger and member of the leading feminist organisation called Feminist Coalition. Similar to Yanga Book Club, Happy Noisemaker also focuses on women’s stories and regularly posts book recommendations on its social media.

 

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The next two notable virtual women-led book clubs are the Reader’s Loft Book Club started by Bola Awe and T.M Books Community which was started by Sandra Tengi. RLBC as the first is fondly called is strictly women only and sees women from varying nationalities there. It also sees authors themselves regularly attend book club meetings to share insights. T.M Books by Sandra Tengi is also a community led by a woman who is a feminist. The book club also discusses African and women centered stories.

The angle of religion plays a role even in how literary communities are formed. This has been the case in the BMW Book Club which was started by Muti’ah Badrudeen, an award winning writer and doctor. A finalist for the SWAP Women Authors Prize, she created the community to discuss Muslim women’s literature. Open to all women however, BMW is rooted in Muslim women’s issues.

One common thread in the creation of book clubs in Nigeria is that they are often created by women who are already writers and want to build community. For one, that is the experience of Rahma O. Jimoh, a poet and co-founder of The Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti Book Club. Named after the legendary women’s rights campaigner, the book club is open to both men and women. Currently in expansion, it started in Ogun State as a student based community in Olabisi Onabanjo University.

Nigerian women’s literary exploits are not limited to book clubs. There are initiatives like book drives and the forming of mobile libraries. One of such is The Book Drive Bayelsa which was founded by Ude Ugo Anna. It aims to provide textbooks, books and other academic materials to communities in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. That is also similar to the earlier mentioned work of Northstar Library.

Some people may say that Nigeria’s reading culture is poor. While that statement is open for debate, these women show that there is indeed a desire in Nigeria for a community that is founded on shared literary interests. It is only necessary that we celebrate the women who infuse the feminist angle in that desire.