The Africa Institute, Global Studies University invites applications for the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship, a distinguished program that celebrates and supports literary voices engaged in the creative expression of Africa and its diaspora in all forms and genres.

Established in honor of the late Nigerian scholar Tejumola Olaniyan, a renowned literary critic whose work profoundly shaped African and African diaspora studies, this fellowship reflects his legacy of intellectual rigor, creativity, and commitment to fostering new narratives. It aligns with The Africa Institute’s mission as a globally oriented center dedicated to research, postgraduate studies, and critical discourse on Africa and its worldwide connections.

Since its inception in Fall 2022, the fellowship has welcomed esteemed writers, fostering creative exchange and scholarship in Sharjah, UAE, an essential nexus of African-Arab cultural interaction. Through this residency, The Africa Institute continues to advance its commitment to shaping new paradigms in African and African diaspora studies while providing a dynamic space for intellectual and artistic exploration.

The residency program welcomes applications from creative writers, including novelists, short story writers, playwrights, poets, and scriptwriters whose work relates to Africa and the African diaspora for a grant of 50,000 AED in total for the duration of the fellowship, which is inclusive of accommodation, a return airfare ticket, visa and the monthly stipend of 10,000 AED per month per fellow.

The proposed project may be in Arabic or English, though other languages will also be considered. To complete their work, recipients will be invited to Sharjah, UAE, for a three-month residency. Typically, the cohort begins in the fall of each year.

Recipients will have the opportunity to publish their texts through The Africa Institute’s publications program. Projects relating to theatre and film scripts can also be published as texts or receive support in facilitating productions. The project could be new or a work-in-progress and should be feasible for completion within the timeframe of the residency.

All applications will be reviewed by The Africa Institute through a committee of faculty and fellows. Three recipients will be chosen based on the quality of their proposal and the demonstrated feasibility of completion within the timeframe of the residency.

The 2026 Open Call is now open for submissions.

Application deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026.

About Tejumola Olaniyan

Tejumola Olaniyan was a Nigerian academic, the Louise Durham Mead Professor of English and African Cultural Studies, and the Wole Soyinka Professor of the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin. Olaniyan earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Ife in Nigeria and completed a second master’s degree as well as a Ph.D. at Cornell University.

His primary research interests focused on Africa and its diaspora, African Americans, the Caribbean, and African literature and criticism, along with postcolonial cultural studies, history, theory, and the sociology of drama and pop culture (including art, music, and architecture). His publications included Arrest the Music!: Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics (2004, 2009; nominated for Best Research in World Music by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections in 2005) and Scars of Conquest/Masks of Resistance: The Invention of Cultural Identities in African, African American, and Caribbean Drama (1995). He co-edited African Literature: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory (2007, with Ato Quayson), African Drama and Performance (2004, with John Conteh-Morgan), and African Diaspora and the Disciplines (2010, with James H. Sweet). Olaniyan employed various scholarly approaches, allowing others to experience new perspectives.

Browse through our eligibility criteria, application requirements, submission guidelines, and more: