DAkpabli Readathon outdoors Elizabeth-Irene Baitie

Award-winning Ghanaian author Elizabeth-Irene Baitie will this weekend mount the stage to delight book lovers as the latest guest reader of the DAkpabli Public Reading Campaign. The University of Ghana, Legon Campus edition event is dubbed ‘’Tickling Legon with Nsempiisms’’ and takes place on Saturday March 25th at the Alumni Centre, Ecobank Legon.

Baitie is expected to feature along the regular stars Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli in their first readathon of this second quarter. A medical laboratory director as well as mother of three children, she lives in Accra with her husband Rami. Awards she has won for her novels includes the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa and the Burt Award for African Literature.

The guest reader is expected to thrill the university audience with readings from her works such as A Saint in Brown Sandals, The Twelfth Heart, The Dorm Challenge and Rattling in the Closet.

Ahead of the event, students and lecturers alike are excited to catch the National Readathon train in their own backyard.

“We are going to be there in our numbers,” said Dr. Mawuli Adjei, a Senior Lecturer at the English department. “A year ago, I was among the participants at their public reading at East Legon and it was an evening of laughter and learning.”

According to Marie-Franz Nyameke Fordjoe, a Level 400 Political Science student and hostess of the literary program Read A Book on Radio Univers, the event on Legon campus has been long overdue. “I cannot believe that the DAkpabli Readathon passed us by and visited KNUST last September. I also cannot wait to see their new guest reader, Elizabeth-Irene”.

The DAkpabli Readathon promotes book reading for pleasure as well as local authorship. Besides holding public reading events within Accra, the team has also gone to Kumasi, Ho and Tema. The Readathon campaign by the two authors has received local and international press coverage with ChinAfrican magazine doing a special feature on them in their January edition for 2017.

Between them, the two Ghanaian authors have published 12 books. Nana Damoah has recently been voted ‘Author of the Month’ by KWEE, a Liberian Literary magazine, while Kofi Akpabli’s latest work ‘Made In Nima’ has won a place in an African anthology featuring writers from 14 countries which was published by the Commonwealth in London.

In their readings so far, the two have received sponsorship from THREADEX, Aky3de3, MTN, Unicorn Rentals, WearGhana, Norte Sobolo, Lincar, Sasa Clothing, Fali’s Fruit Bay and AJ's Housekeeping Services.

Elizabeth-Irene Baitie becomes the third guest reader in the row, having taken over from Dr. Ruby Goka, a celebrated author and dentist. The first DAkpabli guest was Alba Sumprim, author and film producer.

During her guest reader tenure, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie is expected to star at all DAkpabli Readathon events. “Getting that phone call to come on board was such a thrill. It’s a fine opportunity, joining a laudable initiative to bring reading and writing closer to our people. I just can’t wait to start working with the team.’’

“Tickling Legon with Nsempisms” kicks off at 5:30 pm prompt.