The Abuja Literary Society (ALS) – founded by Victor Anoliefo, Ike Anya, Ferdinand Agu and Ken Ike Okere in 1998 – is an initiative that brings together writers, aspiring writers, book-lovers, intellectuals, and generally anyone with an interest in the literary and creative arts and looking to relax, network, share ideas, and grow their craft in a creative atmosphere. The Literary Society currently consists of weekly meetings held on every Friday of any given month, in which a variety of activities take place. These activities include open mic poetry sessions, book readings, book discussions, literary workshops among others. Apart from the weekly meetings, ALS organizes periodic events in partnership with other organisations that contribute to its overarching goal of building and sustaining a thriving literary space in Abuja. It also launched the Abuja Literary and Arts Festival (ALITFEST) which has held every year since its launch in 2018.
The Abuja Literary Society has set for itself the task of generating and sustaining a literary culture, and the creation of an alternative literary-based entertainment in Nigeria’s nascent Federal Capital City. ALS attracts resident and visiting writers, literary enthusiasts, as well as visual and performance artists. ALS welcomes all literary enthusiasts to be part of its community. It is also proud to have produced several successful writers and poets that were part of the society during the early stages of their careers. These include Elnathan John (Writer), Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Writer), Dike Chukwumerije (Poet) and more recently, TJ Benson.
ALS has a weekly newsletter (bit.ly/subscribe-ALS) and is available on Twitter and Instagram @AbujaLitSociety. It also has a large community on Facebook, as well as several WhatsApp groups where members interact and share information.