It is 365 Days of Book O'Clock
365 days ago, we birthed an idea we had nursed and toyed with for months. It was a late birth, happened one month after its due date, but birth it we did.
Somehow, it was all for the better because, who would have known that the whole world would be caught in lockdown in the span of a few weeks? So, Book O’Clock happened at a time we all needed some light to brighten up our gloomy days and we’re grateful for being able to provide a community for people who sought solace in the pages of books.
Happy World Book and Copyright Day!
In these 365 days, we have nurtured this idea, birthed and it has grown more than we envisioned. We started out as a book club, became a literary platform and have now added a bookstore. Now, we can boldly boast of the names Book O’Clock Review, Book O’Clock UDUS, Book O’Clock Store. This growth would have been impossible without you all and we are grateful.
Our primary aims were and still are to showcase and appreciate African literature and her creators, to encourage literacy and as well revive the reading culture among residents of Sokoto and Northern Nigeria as a whole. This past year, we have done all we could to promote these aims and with your support, we have achieved some success.
From establishing the first ever book club in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; to hosting the first ever virtual book reading; to bringing the 'Sembene Across Africa' film fest to Sokoto; to starting a store where contemporary African titles (something no other bookstore in Sokoto has) are sold; to providing a platform for readers to meet and know their favorite writers; to many more feats. We say thank you!
It is in the furtherance of that goal, that for our one of our anniversary projects, we started #SchoolsOutreach — an outreach program targeted at Secondary Schools in Sokoto. Catch them young, people say. With the project, we aim to help raise awareness about reading and help to restore the reading culture among students of secondary schools in Sokoto. This, we hope to achieve by visiting these schools, creating awareness, supporting the students with tools and monitoring and encouraging their progress over time. Over the past weeks, we have recorded some positive feedback and we are glad.
We’re not stopping here though, there’s still so much work to be done and we’re committed to this cause. We can however not do it alone, we need you. We need your help. We need you to read us. To buy our books. To tell people about us and the work we do. To support our ongoing projects. To send us all the love and light you can offer.
Book O’Clock is a self-funded organization and there’s only so much we can do without funding. You have supported us till this point and we couldn’t be more grateful, we hope you continue to support us in the pursuit of our dreams to see a time when literature gets the reverence it deserves in Sokoto State and northern Nigeria as a whole.
Remember, we’re only just getting started, the best is yet to come.
It is #365DaysOfBookOclock and we are stoked for it.
Check out “World Book Day 2021: 30 African Contemporary Writers Share Their Favorite Books”
